Insurance Bill enters Lok Sabha, faces hurdle in Rajya Sabha

The opposition members sought a division of votes. Though the Congress was not vocal in resisting the introduction of the Bill, it voted with the rest of the opposition — 131 votes were polled in favour and 45 against. But the mood in the Congress camp was upbeat after the Rajya Sabha vote in the evening.

“You have seen the opposition unity today and our combined numbers,” pointed out a senior Congress leader.

Earlier, the Congress was seen as not particularly opposed to the Bill. While the previous UPA government had piloted its original 2008 version, the select committee which examined the Bill last year had accommodated the Congress’s views. The Congress had joined the opposition parties in blocking the government motion for withdrawal of the previous Bill from the Rajya Sabha, but it was more a parliamentary tactic to corner the ruling party.

“But now, the unity of the opposition is more important to us than the Bill,” said the Congress leader. He said the party would not only oppose the introduction of the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, but also force voting at all stages. There will be no let-up, even if the government goes for a joint session, he said. “We will have to see what other parties are saying, we cannot take a stand in isolation,” he added.

As part of key economic reforms, the Bill provides for raising the FDI cap in the insurance sector to 49 per cent.

In the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the Left and TMC members registered their opposition soon after Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha sought to introduce the Bill. They pointed out that a similar Bill was pending in the Rajya Sabha, which had rejected a government motion to withdraw it.

“Show us one instance of a Bill pending in the Rajya Sabha being taken up in the Lok Sabha,” said Roy, pointing out that both Houses had equal powers on legislation issues.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu countered that an ordinance becomes a law the moment it is promulgated, so any action taken under the ordinance is “valid”. He maintained that the ordinance, as well as any action taken under it till April 6, would be legal and binding. He said the new Bill was necessary to replace the ordinance and it was for the government to choose where it was brought in first.

Sinha said the government was well within its rights to introduce the Bill. He said it was the constitutional responsibility of the government to ensure that the Bill was passed. He said the opposition should respect “parliamentary protocol” and let him introduce the Bill.

The matter later cropped up in the Rajya Sabha as several members pointed out that even while the Bill was pending in the Rajya Sabha, the government had introduced an identical Bill in the Lok Sabha. Deputy Chairman P J Kurien told members that he would first examine the rules and constitutional provisions. “I reserve my ruling on this,” he said.

The issue was raised by Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress deputy leader Anand Sharma, CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury and SP’s Naresh Agrawal. “When a Bill is introduced in the Rajya Sabha, it becomes the property of this House,” said Agrawal, adding that the introduction of an identical Bill in the Lok Sabha was null and void.

Yechury said the government was using “tyranny of the majority” in the Lok Sabha. Sharma said the government should not create a new precedent with its latest action.

TMC leader Derek O’Brien said Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda must tell the House if the Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha was the same as the one pending in the Rajya Sabha. Gowda, however, said it was too early to say if it was the same Bill or an amended version.