TMC hurdle for bill today
The government could not introduce the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday despite President Pratibha Patil giving her required consent, and it will now be laid before the Upper House on Thursday. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday with amendments.
The government, which faced a numbers crunch in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, when the Constitution Amendment Bill was defeated, apparently wanted more time to put its house in order before facing the Rajya Sabha.
Not only are supporting parties like the BSP, Samajwadi Party and RJD opposing the bill, even a key UPA partner, Trinamul Congress, intensified its opposition to the bill on Wednesday, and said it planned to bring an amendment relating to the Lokayukta provision.
The government does not have even a simple majority in the Rajya Sabha. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee held hectic parleys throughout the day, meeting Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley in a bid to seek the BJP’s support for the measure. He also held discussions with Trinamul leaders to allay their fears about the Lokayukta provision in the bill, impressing upon them that the government had already amended the original provision by incorporating a clause mandating the consent of state governments before notifying it. Mr Mukherjee is expected to speak to Trinamul supremo Mamata Banerjee too. Trinamul MP Derek O’Brien has, however, already served a notice for an amendment to the bill.
In a House of 243, the government has the support of 109 members (including Trinamul MPs), but there are 111 members opposing the bill. Thus the bill’s fate in the Rajya Sabha hinges entirely on the role of 27 MPs belonging to parties supporting the UPA from outside, which oppose the legislation. In the Lok Sabha they staged a walkout, which led to the defeat of the Constitution Amendment Bill.
If they repeat the walkout, the total numbers and the majority required will also come down. But the government is banking on their numbers. A simple majority will then require only 108 votes, and the bill may scrape through. A lot, however, depends on which way the Trinamul Congress goes.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi Wednesday blamed the BJP for the defeat of the Constitution Amendment Bill, saying this “exposed” its “real face”. Mrs Gandhi said the BJP had committed itself to supporting a constitutional status for the Lokpal in the standing committee. “But yesterday, we saw their real face. The strength we wanted to give to the Lokpal Bill... they did not want,” she told reporters.
Opposition leaders said it wasn’t their responsibility. Sushma Swaraj said: “The amendment was defeated ... as the government failed to muster the support of half the members of the House.”
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