Key Bills stuck in RS logjam

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 21

The government hopes to push through the Insurance Bill, along with other Bills cleared by the Lok Sabha, in the Rajya Sabha on Monday and Tuesday, the last two days of the ongoing winter session. The government had introduced the GST Bill in the Lok Sabha last week.

Top government functionaries are hoping to break the Rajya Sabha impasse with some cooperation from the Opposition, but with the conversion row deepening further over the weekend courtesy some more reports of conversions and statements by top BJP-RSS leaders, it remains to be seen whether Opposition leaders will be as accommodating.

Last week, the Upper House lost most of its hours to protests over the conversion row, with the Opposition holding on to its ground, demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

With just two days to go, the Rajya Sabha is yet to take up crucial Bills relating to facilitation of auction of coal blocks, enhancing FDI limit in the capital-starved insurance sector and enabling extension of Delhi Special Provisions Act that expires by the end of this month.

Marking a sharp contrast in the functioning of the two Houses during the first four weeks of the session, the Lok Sabha functioned for over 126 hours during the stipulated 20 sittings with a productivity of over 105 per cent, while the productivity of the Rajya Sabha has been a dismal 68 per cent.

Government functionaries admit the Rajya Sabha has turned “infructuous” but say they will not cede to the Opposition demand — a statement by the Prime Minister.

The government functionaries expected the “situation to turn around” on Monday, thus making it feasible for the government to introduce the Insurance Bill in the Rajya Sabha. The Prime Minister, they say, does not favour the ordinance route and wants crucial legislations such as insurance to be discussed in the House.

But over the weekend some more conversions were reported. Alongside, BJP president Amit Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat issued statements, openly challenging the “so-called secular parties” to support the BJP’s quest for an anti-conversion law if they were so much against conversions.

The BJP does not favour forced conversions, but was in favour of an anti-conversion law, they said.

Last week, the Rajya Sabha suffered from repeated disruptions over conversions. Though the Insurance Bill was listed for introduction, a united Opposition successfully frustrated Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s efforts to introduce it. In fact, the only legislative business that the government was able to conduct in the House this week was the Anti-Hijacking (Amendment) Bill, 2014.

Which is why the remaining two sittings assume importance, as the Rajya Sabha is still to consider some crucial Bills passed by Lok Sabha.

The Upper House is also to take up the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Amendment Bill, 2014. This Bill, passed by the Lok Sabha, seeks to extend the validity of an Act that gives protection to unauthorised constructions and which is to expire by the end of this month.