There was a face-off between Congress leader Anand Sharma (left) and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Rajya Sabha
As it takes on a united Opposition in Parliament over its land acquisition ordinance, the ruling BJP is reaching out to farmers in an attempt to allay their fears that the changes it is seeking to make in the law are "anti-farmer."
Here are the latest developments in the story:
BJP chief Amit Shah has set up an eight-member committee which will collect suggestions from farmers on land acquisition. Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today, "We welcome farmers' suggestions, we will meet a delegation of farmers."
In the Lok Sabha today, the Modi government tabled a bill to replace the controversial ordinance amid allegations from the opposition that it is trying to give parliamentary procedure a go by. The Congress walked out.
In the Rajya Sabha, where it is in a minority, the government has promised a detailed discussion before it tables the bill. Finance minister Arun Jaitley defended the slew of ordinances issued by the government.
"You expect Parliament to rubberstamp your ordinances... you don't send anything to the Standing Committee," alleged Congress leader Anand Sharma in an intense exchange with Mr Jaitley in the Rajya Sabha.
At a weekly meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told party MPs that the land bill will in fact help the poor. He will meet the BJP lawmakers and those from allied parties this evening as the government firms up its floor strategy.
Outside Parliament the government faces a farmers' protest led by activist Anna Hazare which Delhi chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will join today. Mr Hazare alleges that the land ordinance changes the law to favour only industrialists.
Eight ordinances need to be cleared by both Houses in the next few weeks or they will lapse. The government has a commanding majority in the Lok Sabha, but is in a minority in the Rajya Sabha and needs the support of opposition parties to pass laws in that House.
All Opposition parties have lined up against the government's land ordinance. The Biju Janata Dal, which has in the past supported the BJP on some issues, too has made clear it does not support it on this.
The Congress alleges that the Modi governments ordinance "fundamentally alters" a law that was passed with the BJP's approval two years ago. The ordinance seeks to scrap a social impact assessment and the need for the consent of 70 per cent land owners before agricultural land is acquired.
Restrictions on buying land, under the law championed by the Congress government, are among barriers holding up projects worth almost $300 billion or nearly Rs. 20 lakh crore in sectors such as rail, steel, mining and roads.
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