NEW DELHI: After day-long hectic political consultations ahead of the budget session beginning tomorrow, the main opposition party Congress made it clear that it will oppose "tooth and nail" the ordinance route taken by the government to legislate.
Congress today also made it clear that Sonia Gandhi has not given any assurance to government on the controversial land ordinance and said such an impression is being created.
"An impression is being created by the government that Congress president Sonia Gandhi has given some assurance to it on the issue of ordinances when Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu met her. This is wrong," Congress deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma said.
He said Congress has fundamental issues when government takes the ordinance route to legislate bypassing parliamentary scrutiny.
"This is subverting parliamentary democracy. There are many of the ordinances which are unjustified, unawarranted and anti-people.
"In particular, land ordinance which is anti-farmer and also undermines the safeguards given to them. It violates a national consensus on land acquisition, including food security issues in public interest. This ordinance destroys the soul of the Act and national consensus," he said.
"Equally disturbing is the coal ordinance which is backdoor de-nationalisation of the coal sector, which is fully unacceptable," he said, adding that same is the case with mining ordinance.
"This will be opposed tooth and nail by Congress," Sharma asserted, while saying that Congress is all for constructive engagement, but it is upto the government to engage with opposition and rebuilding a national consensus.