The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill that allows for raising FDI in insurance companies from 26 per cent to 49 per cent was included in Thursday’s Business List for discussion and passage in the Upper House but was taken off the agenda after the Opposition Congress and the Left parties opposed it in the morning meeting of party leaders with the Chairman.
Seeking time to study the 97 amendments proposed to be moved by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley when the Bill comes up for discussion, party leaders wanted the Bill to be referred to the Select Committee.
The Bill is now expected to be taken up on Monday or Tuesday. Whenever that happens, the government may have to face its first floor test in a House of 245 where it is in minority. The Congress is the largest bloc with 69 members followed by BJP (42), BSP (14), TMC (12), JD-U (12), AIADMK (11) and Samajwadi Party (10). There are 10 nominated and nine independent members. The rest of the parties are in single digit figures.
Sources on condition of anonymity said the Congress now wants to oppose the proposed financial reform legislation quoting the Standing Committee Report of 2013 chaired by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha which had opposed raising the foreign equity cap from the present 26 per cent.
Earlier the former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram recalled that the Bill was opposed by the BJP, then in Opposition, for nearly two years.