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"There are just two days left for this week to end. You wait, from Monday we will carry placards that are even bigger," said a Congress MP on a day of mixed emotions when Parliament achieved little by way of legislative business. Some government strategists got irritated when asked how they propose to resolve the parliamentary impasse, while some others talked of a 'Plan B' of governance if the Congress persisted with its protests during the winter session of Parliament as well. This 'Plan B' entails the government carrying on its business with the help of executive orders and also by converting as many of its proposed legislations into 'money Bills'.
Only the Lok Sabha, which continued to transact business on Wednesday despite the Opposition protests, can vote on money Bills. The government is in a minority in the Rajya Sabha, and can hope to be the single largest party in the House only by mid-2016. A simple majority will elude the government until 2018. Therefore, converting Bills into money Bills might seem a good tactic but is unlikely to be effective as large number of Bills are welfarist in nature.
Only the Lok Sabha, which continued to transact business on Wednesday despite the Opposition protests, can vote on money Bills. The government is in a minority in the Rajya Sabha, and can hope to be the single largest party in the House only by mid-2016. A simple majority will elude the government until 2018. Therefore, converting Bills into money Bills might seem a good tactic but is unlikely to be effective as large number of Bills are welfarist in nature.
Some in the government had earlier spoken of the possibility of a joint session to pass crucial Bills. The idea was later jettisoned given that some of BJP allies were also opposed to that Bill. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) being a constitutional amendment cannot be turned into a money Bill but others like the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill can be, claimed sources.
According to sources, a senior Congress leader even suggested to a government floor manager that Prime Minister Narendra Modi talk with Congress President Sonia Gandhi. But the government, if Congress sources are to be believed, was unsure whether Gandhi would relent given the combative mood of her party. One of the younger Congress MP said they will be armed with even larger placards that they will bring to the Lok Sabha on Monday.
The Congress is largely jubilant that with barely a tenth of the strength of the Lok Sabha they have not only managed to ensure a near washout of the monsoon session but the suspension of their MPs has made rest of the Opposition rally behind them.
From the government's side, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday appealed to the Congress to introspect and reappraise its strategy. He said the country was disturbed at the belligerent attitude of the Congress. Prasad said "no comments" when asked for his views on party MPs Shatrughan Sinha and Hukum Singh having appealed to the leadership to intervene to revoke the suspension of the MPs.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a "god's gift to the nation" and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj "a national asset" and ruled out her resignation. In the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley expressed regret at the possible delay in the GST rollout.
It was apparent from conversations with government floor managers that the ruling alliance has nearly given up on even establishing a contact with the Congress leadership. The BJP is convinced that any outreach will be a waste of time.
The government is prepared to play the patient game that involves winning the Bihar elections, and hope that the Congress will progressively lose support on the ground for its 'obstructionist politics'. While the BJP and its allies will not get a majority, the Congress will see its numbers in the Rajya Sabha dwindle significantly by mid-2016.
