The Odisha Government has set the process in motion to set up a Vidhan Parishad (legislative Council) in the State amid protests from the Opposition BJP and Congress.
A five-member committee headed by senior BJD MlA Nrusingha Sahu has already held its meeting before setting out for a study on the working of similar House in other States having bicameral legislature. The meeting was boycotted by the two members of the panel from the BJP and Congress. However, Sahu said the panel would do its work without the BJP and Congress members. The five members of the panel include Sahu, Pramila Mallik, Manohar Randhari (BJD), Bhujabal Majhi of Congress and Nitesh Gangdev of BJP. To begin with, the three-member team would tour Maharashtra and Karnataka on January 31 for three days.
When the Government does not get enough support for the move in the State from the Opposition and it has already taken an anti-Centre stand, the fate of a second chamber looks uncertain.
Having a brute majority in the Assembly is not enough to succeed in the matter. There has to emerge a consensus in the State among all political parties since it is a constitutional issue. Besides, the Government has to have enough funds for it to run a second House.
However, neither the Government gets the backing of the Opposition, nor is the present fiscal health of the State sound for a Vidhan Parishad.
The BJD Government has been facing serious fund crunch over last few years due to blanket ban on mining and dwindling of revenue from the mining sector. This has been one of the reasons of the gradual downsizing of its Budget. lack of own resource and constant fall in Central grants have compounded the problem of the State Government to implement its pro-people schemes. When fiscal austerity is the need of the hour, how has the Government gone for setting of a legislative Council at this time, which would mean spending crores of rupees to run the HouseIJ let alone setting up the legislative Council, even for completing the process for it would mean imposing unnecessary burden on the exchequer.
The Government did not take into confidence the Opposition parties before mooting the proposal and selecting members from other parties.
That is the bone of contention for which both the BJP and Congress are opposing the move. BJP State president KV Singh Deo raised a very pertinent question when he asked how the Government picked up a member from the BJP without consulting with the party. He said if the Government had consulted with the party beforehand, it could have suggested for a member who has better expertise in the issue.
The members who have been taken in the panel are less known figures in the State politics. The chairman of the panel is no doubt an experienced BJD legislator, but he suits best for a panel on health issue since he is a doctor, but making him head a panel on a constitutional issue looks ill-conceived. Besides, if there was a constitutional expert in the panel, it would sound saner and more effective.
Though the BJD cited the move to be in the best interest of the State, it smacked of politics. There is no doubt that the BJD can very easily pass a resolution on the establishment of the legislative Council given its brute majority in the House but that would hardly suffice to achieve the target. The proposal has to be passed in both Houses of the Parliament and finally get the President’s nod. And, when the BJP and Congress are opposing the move in the State for being sidelined or otherwise, they would too oppose it in the Parliament, where they have a dominating presence.
The Government’s attitude with regard to establishment of a second chamber is marked by undue hurry. It is adamant to go ahead with the issue not caring a hoot about the opposition’s concern. This makes it clear if the Government is at all interested for having a legislative Council or is it creating a fuss around, knowing it well that it would not succeed, to evade the chit fund heat and harp on its pet theme of Central neglectIJ