The Opposition Thursday objected to the government clearing Bills dealing with policy changes at a time when the Lok Sabha is in the process of taking up a no-confidence motion against the Union government, calling it a “travesty” and against “probity and propriety”. Parliament has not been able to function since the start of the Monsoon Session on July 20, with the Opposition demanding a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the House on the Manipur situation first. Congress MP Manish Tewari termed the government's move to pass key legislation while a no-confidence motion was pending as “unfortunate”. Senior MP and RSP leader N K Premachandran, who is part of the panel that chairs proceedings in the Lok Sabha when the Speaker is not present, took exception to the government rushing through legislation on policy matters such as the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023. Quoting from M N Kaul and S L Shakdher's Practice and Procedure of Parliament — the reference book for rules of the House — Premachandran said: “When leave of the House to the moving of a motion has been granted, no substantive motion on policy matters needs to be brought before the House by the government till the Motion of no Confidence has been disposed of.” He said this especially held true for legislation on policy matters such as the forest Bill. “Probity and propriety demand that the no-confidence motion be taken up first. When a confidence motion is moved by the Prime Minister either on his own or on the direction of the President or a court of law, the first priority is to prove the confidence,” Premachandran told The Indian Express, adding that this in regard there is no difference between a confidence motion and a no-confidence motion. On Wednesday, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla accepted a no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government moved by Congress Deputy Leader in the House Gaurav Gogoi, and backed by the united opposition INDIA bloc. Birla said he would assign a date and time for a debate on the motion after discussing with floor leaders. In the afternoon, the Lower House passed the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill that seeks to exempt land within 100 km of the country's borders from the purview of conservation laws and permit setting up of zoos, safaris and eco-tourism facilities in forest areas. On Thursday, the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2023, and The Repealing and Amending Bill were passed amidst chaos, with Opposition MPs continuing their protests over the situation in Manipur. Premachandran cited Article 75 (3) of the Indian Constitution to underline that the Council of Ministers is accountable to Parliament. “It means it has to prove it has the confidence of the House first. Suppose a Bill is passed and a no-confidence motion wins, it would mean the Bills were passed when the government did not have confidence of the House. It would create a constitutional crisis then,” he said. Tewari tweeted: “It is unfortunate that Bill after Bill is being passed in the Lok Sabha in the din. If substantive motion of Policy is barred, obviously legislation also cannot be brought which holds the field for a 100 years or more. I request Speaker @ombirlakota to start the discussion on the No confidence motion without let or demur. It is a travesty to pass bills when the No confidence is still pending.” Premachandran argued that a confident motion is equivalent to a no-confidence motion. “Because both have the same objective of securing the confidence of the House. The convention of this House also says that irrespective of whether the motion is moved by the PM or the Opposition, the motion has to be given priority,” he said. On the government's argument that there have been instances in the past of Bills being cleared by the House while a trust motion was pending, the senior MP said this happened “after it was mutually agreed by the government and the Opposition. “But now the Opposition is objecting to it. In such a situation, the government is barred from taking up Bills concerning legislative policies of the government.”
