Harihar Swarup
The BJP-led Government faces a big test in the monsoon session of Parliament as it needs to replace six ordinances with legislations that include the one on land acquisition and that has already created ripples in political circles. The Government failed to get big ticket Insurance Bill and Coal Ordinances passed through the Rajya Sabha during the winter session due to strong opposition presence in the house. The fall out of the BJP’s humiliating defeat at the hands of the Aam Admi Party in Delhi could also reverberate in the Budget Session.
There is no chance of the BJP emerging as the single largest party in the Rajya Sabha before 2018 that is six months before the next general elections in 2019. Getting a majority in the upper house is ruled out unless the BJP performs a feat, winning the biennial elections hands down in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa and Tamil Nadu. With its current strength of 48 seats in the 245-member house, the saffron party will have to struggle to get legislations cleared.
The Congress with its present strength of 68, is the largest party, followed by SP 15, JD(U) 12, TMC 11 and AIADMK 11. None of them are favourably inclined towards the BJP. The opposition may cooperate in clearing the minor ordinances like Motor Vehicles (amendment) bill, seeking to allow battery operated vehicles to ply in Delhi and the National Capital Region. But getting ratification of land acquisition and Insurance ordinances will not be possible unless opposition parties agree or there is broad consensus among them.
The Land Bill replaces the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Ordinance, 2014. The Government could push a fresh bill to amend the Insurance Act and replace a related ordinance after withdrawing the previous legislation from the Rajya Sabha where the BJP doesn’t enjoy a majority. The opposition is opposed to coal block allotment ordinance that was re-promulgated. Issuance of eight ordinances in less than nine months of the BJP-led Government’s rule has led to wide questioning of its motivations in using ordinances as a default device for law making. President Mukherjee has already asked the Government to refrain from incessant promulgation of ordinances.
The linkage between ordinances and disruption in Parliament in recent years is apparent. If data from the last five years is analyzed, Parliament logged its lowest numbers of working hours from January 2013 to March 2014. In this time, 14 ordinances were passed, more than the total ordinances passed in previous sessions from 2009. This is not surprising-Government demands continuous action and if Parliament is obstructed, then the ordinance route will be increasingly resorted to.
The only course open for the government to get the ordinances ratified is to convene a joint session of both the houses but the procedure for this is cumbersome. A pre-condition for a joint sitting is that a Bill, along with a statement of reasons for promulgating the ordinance, should have been first defeated in one of the Houses.
Article 108 of the Constitution cites the three grounds for the President notifying a joint sitting. They are – if one House passes the Bill but the other rejects it or if one House passes the Bill, but six months elapse without the other House passing it after reception, or finally, one House passes the Bill, but the other House passes it with certain amendments which the first House disagrees with and there is a deadlock.
Since 1952 till today only four times laws were passed by a joint session.. President Pranab Mukherjee is of opinion that a joint session of Parliament was not a “practicable solution” to resolve a legislative impasse and better be avoided.
Of the eight ordinances, which would have to be cleared in the Budget Session, two -Insurance and Land Acquisition legislations – would be the most contentious. In December last year, the Government issued three crucial ordinances to change the Land Acquisition Act, increasing FDI in insurance to 49% and facilitating auction of coal mines.
There is an ordinance which will merge persons of Indian origin (PIO) and overseas citizenship of Indian schemes, and allow PIOs to avail lifetime Indian visas. Another is for regularization of e-rickshaws in Delhi. Article 123 of the Constitution allows the government to recommend to the President to pass an ordinance, in case of immediate needs, if Parliament is not in session. The opposition has said it will not be rubber stamp of the Government. These ordinances must be validated in the Budge Session or else they will lapse. (IPA)
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