Battling political parties may stall passing of vital Bills

The monsoon session of the Parliament will have 102 working hours out of which 29 hours would be for question hour and private members’ bill. Since the Bharatiya Janata Party is determined to move the motion on Bihar and the Congress on Maharashtra tomorrow, the situation would become precarious.

The government said it was committed to the passage of these bills but a consensus was necessary in this regard. It was also pointed out that in all eight bills are pending in the Lok Sabha for long while four have been referred by the Rajya Sabha. The government has received 24 new bills including the two relating to the two ordinances (Out-of-Turn allotment of government houses and the President’s and Vice President’s elections).

Participating in an all-party meeting which was attended by senior leaders here today, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Srikant Jena said in addition to the heavy agenda, supplementary demand for grants for the Railways and the General Budget are also to be taken up during this session. Therefore, it is upto the members to decide on priorities.

While the BJP and the Congress leaders were bent upon moving adjournment motion on the Bihar and Maharashtra situation, Geeta Mukheree (CPI) made it clear that she would like the Women’s Bill to be passed without any further delay.

Among the new bills that the government proposes to introduce include The Chemical Weapons Convention Bill 1997, The President’s Emoluments and Pension Bill, Vice-President’s Pension, The Constitution’s amendment for Compulsory Education, The High Court and the Supreme Court Judges (Condition of Service), The Delhi Rent (Amendment) and the Leaders and Chief Whips in Parliament (Facilities).

The Chemical Weapons Convention Bill is aimed at giving effect to the various provisions of and to discharge the obligations under the convention on the prohibition of the development, production stockpiling and use of chemical weapons and on their destruction and matters connected therewith.

Interestingly, the Congress, in order to score over the BJP has given notice for another adjournment motion to the Speaker on the subject of political pressure being brought on the Chief Justice of India on the hawala issue.More interestingly, the BJP leaders at the meeting, Atal Behari Vapayee and Jaswant Singh, found it difficult to justify the breakdown of the Constitution in Bihar. When it was pointed out that Laloo Yadav has not even been formally charged and the court has not taken cognisance, the BJP said that there was a crisis. But it was upto the Speaker to accept the motion or reject it in the House.

Similarly, the Congress also agreed to leave it to the Speaker’s discretion the fate of adjournment motion on the Mumbai firing after presenting its plea before him in the House tomorrow.

The Chief Justice’s issue is bound to take an interesting turn and members are determined that a CBI probe be held in the matter.

Another cause of fire in the Front government is denial of rooms to three of the four newly inducted Union Ministers of State in the Gujral government in Parliament House Renuka Chaudhary, Kamla Sinha and Ratanmala Dhareshwar Savanoor. Even D Venkateshwaralu who is holding an independent charge has not been able to get a room to function in Parliament House. Interestingly, Law Minister Ramakant Khalap who had been occupying a room next to the Prime Minister’s has been sent to the third floor.

His room has been allotted to Arvind Pandey, a private secretary to Gujral. While some Cabinet Ministers have been able to get a room on the prized ground floor, others have been told to sulk on the first floor.

No separate seats for RJD men

Even as a bitter battle is on in the United Front on the entry of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma has not granted recognition to Laloo Prasad Yadav’s new outfit.

Although 16 Lok Sabha MPs including three Union Ministers belonging to the RJD had urged the Speaker in a written submission almost two weeks ago to allot them separate seats in the lower house in view of a split in the Janata Dal, Sangma has not taken any decision in the matter.

The RJD MPs will sit alongwith the Janata Dal members tomorrow in the Lok Sabha. Sources close to the Speaker say that the written submission of the MPs is being scrutinised. “What is the hurry? His predecessors had taken months and years to decide on a split. Now you want a verdict within days!” was all that the sources would say. This has, however, caused uneasiness among Laloo’s detractors who are keen on an early decision in the matter so that Janata Dal president Sharad Yadav is able to establish his supremacy in the party.