Government may be forced to keep its reform bills in cold storage

NEW DELHI: The government may be forced to trim its legislative agenda - including pushing through long-pending bills on pensions, insurance and banking - following Congress' debacle in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab assembly elections.

Pension, insurance and banking sector reforms are part of the legislative agenda of the UPA government but BJP leaders told finance minister Pranab Mukherjee at an outreach session that the government should first set its House in order before soliciting its support for the bills.

"We had supported the pension bill in the last session. But the government chickened out following protests from Trinamool Congress. We are not ready to give any commitment when opposition to these legislation are from within the ruling side," a senior BJP leader, who participated in the meeting with Mukherjee, said.

At the meeting, Mukherjee conceded that there was little space for any legislative action in the first leg of the budget session - Parliament goes into recess on March 30 - as there would be just 13 working days and just enough time for discussion on the motion of thanks to the President's address and debate on the rail and general budgets.

At the meeting with BJP leaders, Mukherjee concentrated on seeking their backing for three relatively minor bills - PMLA (amendment) bill, Narcotic Drugs and psychotropic Substances (amendment) bill and an amendment to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act -- that involve international commitments.

That the government does not have the stamina or stomach to push ahead with controversial bills was evident when parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the anti-graft Lokpal bill was not in the priority list.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who attempted to downplay the stress experienced by the government, told reporters that UPA has the numbers in Parliament. Singh also promised to work across the aisle to forge a consensus on crucial issues.

"I think pressure is part of parliamentary life. We are willing to discuss and debate all issues on the floor of Parliament," he had said ahead of the start of the budget session.