Opposition joins hands, sends Mines & Minerals Bill to select Rajya Sabha panel

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha passed the land acquisition Bill on Tuesday but developments in the Upper House, where a united Opposition stalled passage of the mines & minerals Bill, seemed to presage trouble for the government’s reformist agenda.

The Opposition, which outnumbers the ruling NDA in the Rajya Sabha, forced the government to refer the legislation to a select committee of the Upper House and appears to be planning a similar course of action in case of the land acquisition Bill, Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill and the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill when these come up for consideration in the Rajya Sabha.

Opposition leaders said they would also press for sending these Bills to select committees. If this technique is successful, it would stall the government’s plan to call a joint sitting.

A joint session of Parliament can’t be called till the select committees submit their reports and the Rajya Sabha takes a final view on these Bills. Till then, the government would have to keep reissuing the ordinances, something unlikely to enthuse investors.

The Opposition’s use of these parliamentary manoeuvres was on display in the Rajya Sabha, which saw a protracted debate on the Mines & Minerals (Development & Regulation) Bill. A united Opposition, led by Congress, insisted that the proposed legislation — already cleared by the Lok Sabha — be sent to a select committee of the Upper House while the Treasury Benches wanted the Bill to be put to vote.

It became a battle of nerves for both sides with senior leaders from BJP, Congress and CPM citing rules and precedents to buttress their arguments. Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien had to do a tough balancing act as he attempted to satisfy both sides.

HEATED EXCHANGES

The exchanges were heated, and both sides refused to yield for over two hours on whether the motion to send the Bill to a select committee be taken up first or whether there should be a debate on its “Objects and Principles”. Kurien had to adjourn the House thrice before a short discussion on the Bill took place.
Late on Tuesday evening, Kurien announced the “consensus” decision that Leader of the House Arun Jaitley, Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and leaders of various political parties from the Upper House should hold a meeting on Wednesday morning to finalise the names of the select committee members and also the time frame for the panel to give its report to the House. The government used the short discussion to emphasise the benefits of passing the Bill at the earliest. Mines Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said several chief ministers had told him that these amendments will help them financially as well as in creating employment while benefitting tribals.

STICKING TO STAND

Both sides justified their stands. The Opposition seems to be upset that the government promulgated several ordinances between the winter and the budget sessions of Parliament, bypassing the House, and is making it a practice to try and get Bills passed without sending them to standing committees.

Government sources maintain that the attitude of Congress and Left parties will hamper its development and welfare agenda.With the ordinances on which these Bills are based expiring on April 5, the government is in a hurry to get them passed in both Houses before March 20, when Parliament goes into a month-long recess. During the debate on the mines & minerals Bill, Jaitley used all his legal skills and knowledge of procedures of the Rajya Sabha to thwart the Opposition demand for referring it to a select committee.

Jaitley underlined that the funds collected from auction of mines would go to states. He cited the ongoing coal block auctions and said over Rs 2 lakh crore had been collected from the sale of mining rights of just 32 of the 42 coal blocks. This, he said, had surpassed the notional loss figure of Rs 1.86 lakh crore given by former Comptroller & Auditor General Vinod Rai during the coal scam.