Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is trying hard to convince railway minister Mamata Banerjee to come on board regarding the amendment of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, so that the bill could be brought before the Lok Sabha in the Winter Session.
Sources confirm that Banerjee, chief opponent of the bill amending Land Acquisition Act, 1894, met finance minister last week at his residence. ?Pranab Mukherjee handed over a copy of the Land Acquisition Bill to Didi and asked that she go through it again with a thought to extending support,? said a source. After that, Mukherjee has been in regular touch with Banerjee on the matter and sources say that she has indicated that she might be open to a change of mind on the matter.
?The last time round, Didi had said that she wanted the ratio of land to be acquired by private players and government to be fixed at 85:15, this time round too she will be making some such suggestion. She wants to meet NAC chairperson Sonia Gandhi on the matter. We are hopeful that matters can be resolved this time,? added the source. Politically too, events have moved beyond Singur and Nandigram in West Bengal, with Maoism a larger issue.