Govt stalls trial of strength in LS

Opposition’s insistence on a division led to three adjournments of the House by which time Speaker G M C Balayogi held consultations with floor leaders, following which the Government came out with an assurance that it would bring a bill in this session itself to provide for stringent action against black marketeers and hoarders.

After a request by the Speaker that the joint committee on amendments to the bill be given time till December 9 to submit itsreport and the assurance by Food and Civil Supplies Minister Surjit Singh Barnala, Congress chief whip P J Kurien relented from pressing for a division.

It all started suddenly when BJP MP and chairman of the committee Shyam Bihari Mishra sought leave of the House for extension of time to the committee to submit its report till the end of the session.

As the Speaker was in the process of seeking a voice vote on the issue as is done normally, Congress members supported by other Opposition parties caught the treasury benches off guard by demanding a vote by division.

The treasury benches appeared to be uncomfortable following the Opposition demand as members of the BJP and its allies did not seem to be in sufficient strength in the House at that time.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Lal Khurana sought to defuse the situation by expressing readiness at one time to withdraw the motion seeking extension of time but this was not acceptable to the Opposition.

As the House was locked in a wrangle, theSpeaker adjourned it for 45 minutes to enable discussions with floor leaders. Twice later when the House reassembled, it had to be adjourned as the talks were inconclusive.

Finally when the House met after the third adjournment, Barnala recalled the unanimous decision at the chief ministers’ conference last week that the Essential Commodities Act should be amended to also include edible oils and vegetables under its purview.

He said the chief ministers’ conference also decided to empower the state governments to take effective action against black marketeers and hoarders. The Government, he said, would take stringent action against hoarders and black marketeers.