 "LS passes Bills despite disruptions")
Despite a belligerent Opposition bent on disrupting proceedings in Parliament, the Lok Sabha managed to conduct some business on Monday, when both Houses met for the Budget session's second half.
In the Rajya Sabha, where the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) does not have a majority, the Congress party ensured no business was transacted. They created a ruckus over the controversial imposition of President's rule in Uttarakhand. It had to be adjourned thrice. In the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge staged a dharna in the Well of the House, leading sloganeering from the Opposition benches.
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The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, however, managed to get the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill and Regional Centre for Bio-technology Bill passed by the lower House. Rajya Sabha could be a wash out this session. Government sources conceded the much-awaited Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill is off the table for this session. On Monday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed hope that all parties would help in smooth running of Parliament. The Congress, however, made it clear it will no longer be a "goody goody constructive Opposition".
Senior Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh enunciating the party line said: "There has been a murder of democracy, first in Arunachal Pradesh and now in Uttarakhand. There is no prospect of the House functioning when you put a gun to our heads. "We will not be a constructive Opposition as we have been so long and help them in passing Bills."
In response, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said "butchers cannot be preachers". He said the Congress governments at the Centre had dismissed around 100 state governments since Independence, and were now accusing others of murdering democracy.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh attempted to snub Opposition allegations. He said the "crisis" in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh has not been created by the NDA or the BJP but "it is an internal crisis of the Congress party."
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan refused to let the Uttarakhand issue be discussed since the matter was pending before the Supreme Court, leading to more protests. The only exception the Congress is willing to make to its belligerence is by taking part in a debate on the drought situation in the country, to be held in the upper House on Wednesday.
Rajya Sabha, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad accused the central government of "deliberately provoking" the Opposition and "inducing" disruption.
The Congress found support from the Janata Dal (United) and the Left parties.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley attempted to thwart the demand for a discussion on Uttarakhand, saying that issue can be debated when the proclamation of President's rule comes up for discussion in both Houses. The government has till the end of the session to get the ordinance through which it imposed President's rule in Uttarakhand to be passed in the Rajya Sabha. It is likely to be defeated as it is in a minority in the upper House. However, the number of Opposition members in the House is low, as many of them are busy with Assembly elections in their states. It can again pass another ordinance to the same effect on May 13, when the session ends.
The BJP is ensuring that its members as well as those its allies are present in the two Houses, but particularly in the Rajya Sabha, in full strength till May 13. The chief whips of the BJP on Monday held a meeting. The government support in the Rajya Sabha is set to increase with six nominated MPs, including Subramanian Swamy and Navjot Singh Sidhu, set to take oath on Tuesday. The animosity between the Treasury and Opposition benches has reached such levels, that there appears to be little room for negotiation.
The Business Advisory Committee on Monday allocated time for discussion for seven Bills in the Rajya Sabha, and for discussion on the Railways and Finance Bill. It listed seven Bills for discussion in the Rajya Sabha, including Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, Whistle Blowers' Protection (Amendment) Bill, Indian Trusts (Amendment) Bill and Industries (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill.
It decided that the "guillotine" will be applied on May 3. The Lok Sabha is scheduled to take up the Finance Bill after that.
The business advisory committee did not allocate any time for the GST Bill, ostensibly because of "low attendance of members in the Rajya Sabha". A constitution amendment needs more than half the total strength of a House to be present and voting. No time was allocated for the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code as the report of the joint committee is awaited and is to be submitted on Friday. Whatever be the Supreme Court ruling on the Uttarakhand crisis, the the Congress has spied an opportunity to rally around the disparate Opposition parties, like it managed to do with the Land Acquisition Bill. The party will be hitting the streets within the next fortnight. The last time around, Congress President Sonia Gandhi succeeded in leading Opposition leaders on a protest march from Parliament to Rashtrapati Bhavan. The BJP-led government had to retract before an united Opposition.
The Treasury benches tried to rile the Congress with Kirit Somaiya raising the Ishrat Jehan case during Zero Hour, accusing former UPA ministers of playing with national security by seeking to dub a terrorist as a martyr.
The Delhi government's imposition of the "odd-even" rule for private cars in the capital, resounded in Parliament with MPs demanding that they were being inconvenienced and should be exempted from it during the duration of the session.
The only issue on which the Opposition and the government united was the expulsion of Vijay Mallya from the Rajya Sabha. The Ethics Committee of the Rajya Sabha met on Monday and "unanimously decided" to expel industrialist Vijay Mallya. It has however given him a week's time to respond.
Mallya, accused of bank loan default and money laundering, is an Independent member and his six-year-long tenure ends in June.
RETURN TO WORK
Despite frequent disruptions, Parliament managed to do some work on Monday, when the Budget session resumed
LOK SABHA
- Passed Sikh Gurudwaras (Amendment) and Regional Centre for Bio-technology Bills
- Took up Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill
- Time allocated for seven Bills
- Ethics Committee unanimously decided to expel Vijay Mallya from House membership
- April 29: Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code report to be submitted
- May 3: "Guillotine" to be applied
- May 4: Finance Bill likely to be taken up
