Parties concerned over erosion of supremacy of Parliament

New Delhi, August 1, 2013:: Congress leader and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Planning Rajiv Shukla interacting with leader of opposition in Rajya sabha and BJP leader, Arun Jaitley prior to the All Party Meeting chaired by Parliamentary Affairs and Urban Development Minister, Kamal Nath ahead of Monsoon session of the Parliament in New Delhi on Thursday, August 1, 2013. photo Rajeev Bhatt

An all-party meeting on Thursday voiced concern over “erosion of supremacy” of Parliament with demands being made for a change in the mechanism of higher judiciary appointments and a response to the recent Supreme Court judgements on disqualification of legislators and barring those behind bars from contesting elections.

The meeting, convened by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath ahead of Monsoon Session beginning Monday, saw leaders of all parties being also critical of the Supreme Court judgements on the issue of reservations.

After the 90-minute meeting, he told reporters that all parties expressed concern over the judgements and wanted the National Judicial Commission Bill to be introduced as well as passed in this session itself.

Some leaders wanted the government to “respond” to the apex court judgement against reservation in the faculty of AIIMS and the orders relating to disqualification, which they felt could lead to vendetta and anarchy.

The session, which concludes on August 30, will have 16 sittings. As many as 44 Bills are planned to be taken up for consideration while six are to be withdrawn and 14 are to be introduced.

Food Security Bill, on which an Ordinance is already in place, is among the proposed legislations. While the BJP demanded that the Bill on formation of separate Telangana be brought in this session itself for consideration and passage, government said that it will have to follow the legal process under which a resolution is required to be passed by the Andhra Pradesh Assembly.