Govt in two minds: Select committee or Joint SessionIJ
It is becoming increasing clear that the Insurance laws (amendment) Bill is unlikely to be passed in the current session of Parliament unless there is a major give-and-take between the Government and the Congress in the next one week. While the Congress and eight other parties are determined to block its passage in the Rajya Sabha, the Government is mulling all options, including referring it to the Select Committee or convening a joint session of Parliament for the early passage of the Bill.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday held informal consultations with the Congress Deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha to make headway on the issue. Naidu, however, ruled out a second all-party meeting on the Insurance Bill. The first all-party meeting on Monday was described as “inconclusive” by the NCP (which is supporting the Bill) with a suggestion that another was in line to work out a solution.
“The ball is in the court of the Congress,” said the Parliamentary Affairs Minister.
“Government is open to all options except taking the Ordinance route on the issue. I am personally not in favour of it,” Naidu said.
Minister of State for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman said the Government felt let-down by the Congress stonewalling its own proposal to hike FDI in insurance sector to 49 per cent from current 26 per cent.
“Of course, there are whispers that it could be because they do not want to give credit to Modi before he goes to the US. I have reasons to suspect that it is true. I can’t see otherwise any substantial reason for them to oppose,” she told PTI.
Sitharaman, however, hoped the Bill will be passed in the current session of Parliament, which ends on August 14, saying the opposition to the Bill was crumbling and many parties like the NCP are willing to support the Bill.
“We don’t see a need. How much time has been spent on it,” she said when asked if there is a need to refer the Bill to a Select Committee.
Speaking on the issue, Congress spokesperson Shobha Ojha asked why the BJP was on such “a hurry” to pass the Bill “after delaying it for six years”. She said the Congress supported FDI in the insurance sector.
In the Rajya Sabha, bitter political rivals, the left parties and Trinamool Congress, were on the same page when it came to attacking the Government on its policy with regard to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
Questioning the timing of the increase in the FDI cap in various sectors, TMC’s Derek O’Brien said in the Rajya Sabha that the Government was in a hurry to implement it ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed visit to the United States in September. CPI’s D Raja and CPI-M’s P Rajeeve too joined the TMC member in opposing the decision on FDI in insurance.
“What has happened in the last 10 days in allowing FDI is a very serious issue. The timing of it and the way it has happened leaves a lot to be desired. Some people are in a hurry to pack their bags and catch a flight, which is why this hurry on FDI. This is not the way to go about. FDI is not the panacea of all problems. FDI is not Foreign Direct Investment, it is Foreign Direct Interference, it is Foreign Direct Intrusion,” O’Brien said while raising the matter in the zero hour.
Interestingly, Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) was seen drawing the attention of the Chair for taking up the TMC leader’s notice for suspension of Question Hour for raising the issue but Vice-President Hamid Ansari did not allow it. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley argued that the issue has already been discussed in the House threadbare during the discussions on General and Railway Budget.