Finance Bill advanced, quota to dominate session

The date of the Finance Bill, 2007-08, the highlight of the second part of the budget session of Parliament, has been advanced. The Bill will now be taken by the Lok Sabha on May 3.

The decision was taken at an all-party meeting convened by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee today. Originally, the Bill was to come up later in May.

Since Finance Minister P Chidambaram would be on a foreign tour between May 6-10, the Bill was required to be cleared earlier, the government said.

An angry Opposition contended that Parliament was more important than the finance minister's visit. The government said as it was the session which was rescheduled, any change in the finance minister's plans was not possible.

A number of issues, including OBC quota in elite educational institutions and the alleged involvement of some MPs in human trafficking, are likely to make the session volatile. The results of the UP Assembly elections, likely to be declared midway through the session, may also echo in the House.

The issue of the caretaker government in UP headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav calling for an Assembly session in the middle of the election process may also come up, besides price rise, internal security situation and Kashmir.

The month-long session will conclude on May 22. Left parties, key outside supporters of the UPA coalition, have already stepped up pressure by telling the government not to take their support for granted.

The BJP has said that it will seek an explanation from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the wake of Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri's statement that a settlement of the Kashmir issue was on the cards.

The much-awaited legislation to introduce reforms in the insurance and pension sectors is unlikely to come up in this session, primarily because the Left parties are yet to hold consultations at appropriate levels with the government.

Other legislative business likely to be taken up is the Unorganised Workers Social Security Bill, 2007, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2007, the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations, Maintenance of Quality and Prevention of Commercialization) Bill, 2007, the Micro Financial Sector (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2007, the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2007, and the National Rural Employment Guarantee (Amendment) Bill, 2007.