Amid opposition ruckus, land ordinance tabled in Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: NEW DELHI: Amid uproar by opposition MPs, the land ordinance was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday by minister of state for parliamentary affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
The ordinance was promulgated by President Pranab Mukherjee on April 3.
It had earlier been promulgated in December last year.
Opposition members raised slogans like "withdraw the bill" and "down with the anti-farmer government", terming the re-promulgation of the ordinance as "murder of democracy".
Top opposition leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi of Congress and Mulayam Singh Yadav of SP, were present in the House.
Jyotiraditya Scindia, K C Venugopal and Gaurav Gogoi (all Cong), Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav (RJD) and Dharmendra Yadav (JD-U) were among several opposition members protesting in the well.
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan sought to pacify the members, saying the bill was yet to be introduced and they could protest when that happens.
When her pleas went unheeded, she read out a statement hailing woman players, Saina Nehwal and Sania Mirza, for their "glorious achievments" in badminton and tennis respectively.
Amid the din, she asked external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to make a statement on the evacuation of Indian nationals from strife-torn Yemen.
As opposition members continued their protest, Mahajan adjourned the House till 2pm.
The fresh ordinance, which is the 11th by the Narendra Modi government, incorporates nine amendments that were part of the bill passed in Lok Sabha last month.
The ordinance, which the government could not get converted into a legislation in the first half of the Budget Session due to stiff opposition in Rajya Sabha, was re-promulgated on April 3, a day before it was to lapse.
READ ALSO: Parliament resumes, PM hopes for productive session
Land bill: I live for the poor, says PM Modi
Sushma Swaraj makes statement on Yemen evacuation
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday made a statement on Yemen evacuations in the Lok Sabha amid protests over tabling of land ordinance.
"We successfully evacuated Indians from Yemen under very difficult conditions," Sushma Swaraj said in the Lok Sabha.
"Indian forces evacuated people of 48 nations from Yemen," Sushma Swaraj informed the Lok Sabha.
(With inputs from agencies)