Reject ordinances on insurance, coal mines: CPI appeals to President

NEW DELHI: CPI today urged President Pranab Mukherjee to "reject" ordinances on FDI in insurance and coal mines allocation, a day after CPI(M) wrote to the President protesting against the government's decision to bring the ordinances.

In a statement here, the Central Secretariat of CPI condemned the ordinances brought by the NDA government on the Insurance Law (Amendment bill) and re-promulgation of an ordinance on the process to auction 24 coal mines.

Rajya Sabha did not pass the Insurance Law Amendment Bill, which proposes to increase FDI from 26 per cent to 49 per cent in insurance sector and the Coal Mines Bill was not even introduced in Rajya Sabha, it added.

"Bill was not even introduced in Rajya Sabha. The method of so-called reforms to boost confidence among investors as claimed by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, is unethical and undermining the Parliamentary institutions," the statement said.

The contents of both the ordinances goes against the interests of the nation, the CPI said, while appealing to people to protest against "Ordinance Raj and FDI in key sectors".

The Union Cabinet had yesterday approved key insurance and coal sector reforms which were stuck in Parliament logjam.