Passage of crucial Bills uncertain

Opposition adopts joint strategy in RS to trip up government

December 18, 2014 11:59 pm | Updated December 04, 2021 11:36 pm IST - New Delhi:

The fate of the Modi government’s economic legislative agenda hung in the balance on Thursday as the Opposition solidarity continued to hold in the Rajya Sabha: the passage of key draft laws — The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill and The Goods and Services Tax Bill — looked uncertain.

Commanding a majority of 139 in the 245-member Upper House, nine parties — the Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the Trinamool Congress, the Janata Dal(U), the Bahujan Samaj Party, the CPI(M), the DMK, the CPI and the NCP – jointly strategised to keep the pressure on, deploying a variety of parliamentary devices to trip up the government. They also issued whips to their members to be present at all times in the House to ensure that no Bills were passed in their absence, an Opposition MP told The Hindu .

With less than three days left for the end of the winter session, the government appeared resigned to the prospect of not being able to achieve its legislative targets, but it remained determined that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should not be compelled to respond to a debate on communal statements by BJP MPs and religious conversion.

“The Prime Minister is clearly running away from the debate,” senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said, adding, “Unfortunately, he has got used to one-way communication… through Twitter, Facebook… There, no one can ask questions and you don’t have to reply.” And the Congress’s Rajiv Shukla stressed, “the Opposition is only saying that some ruling party members have violated the assurance given [by the Prime Minister].”

However, the government’s parliamentary managers are still trying to break the Opposition unity, top BJP sources indicated: attempts are being made to “soften” the SP and the BSP that together have 25 MPs.

Meanwhile, top government sources admitted that if the RS does not clear the Insurance Bill in this session, it will have to wait till the budget session. A joint session of Parliament to pass it can only be called if it had been first cleared by one House and rejected by the other: unfortunately for the government, the Bill has to come up in the RS first where it is unlikely to be cleared. This is because while the Congress has agreed to back the Bill, it has said it is contingent on the House being in order. The government, these sources added, cannot bring an ordinance either as the Bill is now the property of the Upper House.

The Trinamool, that is playing a pivotal role in keeping the Opposition united, will “fight tooth and nail to prevent the passage of the Insurance Bill,” party MP Derek O’Brien said.

However, the government, top Power Ministry sources said, can re-promulgate an ordinance for the Coal Mines Bill — already approved by the LS — if the RS fails to clear it in this session. Even the seven-RS MP-strong Biju Janata Dal (not among the eight parties already mentioned) wants amendments in the Coal Mines Bill as it became clear during the debate in the Lok Sabha. The GST Bill, that received the Cabinet clearance on Wednesday, may, at best, be introduced — and passed — in the Lok Sabha.

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