Silence rules the roost in BJP, Sena camps

MUMBAI: Even as the Congress and the Left get ready to slug it out over SEZs, the Shiv Sena and the BJP seem to be clueless about what is happening in the country. The issue, surprisingly, seems to have completely silenced the principal opposition parties.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi last week raised a storm by advising state governments led by her party not to make agricultural land available for SEZs. Her views promptly were echoed by Union commerce minister Kamal Nath and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar.

Surprisingly, the BJP and the Shiv Sena have observed a complete silence by not reacting on the issue. Normally eager to approach the media on the slightest provocation, the BJP in this case issued a four-line statement to announce the formation of a special ‘high-power’ committee to study the SEZ issue. The exercise is aimed at helping BJP chief Rajnath Singh “to formulate an opinion about SEZs”.

Mr Singh has appointed former party chief M Venkiah Naidu as the convenor of the committee. Other members are former aviation minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Delhi’s former Lt governor Vijay Kapoor, MP Kishan Singh Sangwan, chief of party’s agro wing Vinod Pandey and former Mumbai MP Kirit Somaiya.

The committee has not set any deadline to complete its study. The press note merely states that “the committee will submit its report as early as possible”. At the state level, the party has demanded “complete transparency” from the state government over the issue.

The state BJP unit seems to have no objections to farmers’ land being used for SEZs as the party has expressed concerns only about inadequate compensation. Interestingly, the party has appealed farmers to not to give their “precious land” for SEZs. Its alliance partner Shiv Sena, however, has observed total silence on the issue. Though the party is currently locked in a fierce battle with the Peasants and Worker’s Party (PWP), a strong SEZ opponent, over capturing political space in Raigad district, it has not yet reacted to the controversy.

Barring a solitary statement made by Sena spokesperson Subhash Desai warning the government of pitfalls of acquiring agriculture land for SEZs, the Sena leadership has retained silence. The party mouthpiece Samna, which never misses an opportunity to expose Congress’ ‘anti-poor’ designs, too has been conspicuous by its silence.