Thomas not keen on ordinance route to push through Food Bill

Amid talk of the government taking the ordinance route to implement its ambitious National Food Security Bill,Food Minister K V Thomas Thursday met Law Minister Kapil Sibal and discussed available options.

Amid talk of the government taking the ordinance route to implement its ambitious National Food Security Bill,Food Minister K V Thomas Thursday met Law Minister Kapil Sibal and discussed available options. Thomas,however,is not keen on an ordinance.

Thomas told The Indian Express that the Food Ministry has proposed various options,including a special session of Parliament to discuss and pass the legislation. We have various options before us and all discussed with the Law Minister, he said.

Thomas said he believed the Bill should be discussed in Parliament as it would be implemented by states and its impact would be felt across the country. The Bills spirit will be lost if it is implemented through an ordinance or executive order, he said. He said the Law Ministry shared his view.

Story continues below this ad

The Congress,sources said,is keen to roll out the programme ahead of the forthcoming Assembly polls. The government tried to push the Bill through towards the end of the Budget session,but the BJP stonewalled the bid. The Bill was introduced in Parliament in December 2011.

Thomas,sources said,met Sibal after the Law Ministry said promulgating an ordinance would be meaningless unless a necessary mechanism for the acts implementation is put in place in states.

EAM Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Rubio hold bilateral discussions in New York

India29 min ago

Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar and US Senator Rubio met in New York to discuss the 25% tariff on Indian oil imposed by Trump. This was their first in-person meeting since the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting. India and the US also began talks for a trade agreement, with positive discussions during a recent visit by US trade officials to India.

View all shorts

Live Blog