Congress Raises Queries Prior to Delhi Bill

The Lok Sabha is expected to take up the Delhi ordinance bill on Monday.

New Delhi:

The bill on control of Delhi bureaucrats likely to come up on Monday in Lok Sabha. the Opposition, which is fighting it tooth and nail, has questioned if bills can be passed when a no-confidence motion against the government is pending. In a tweet today, Congress’s Manish Tewari cited a rule-book that suggests the opposite, and urged Speaker Om Birla to “start the discussion on the No confidence motion without let or demur”.

“It is a travesty to pass bills when the No confidence is still pending,” he added.

The Speaker has indicated that traditionally, the date for debate and discussion is decided after consulting all parties and legislative business is not restricted in the intervening period.

Dismissing the Congress’ objections, the Speaker said, “In my view, the time available to the House between leave being granted by the House and moving of the motion of no confidence can be gainfully utilised by the House in debates and discussion. The House would agree that it is our constitutional duty to legislate and raise issues of public importance. Rule 198 also does not bar taking up of any legislative or other matters of public importance after leave to moving a motion of no confidence has been granted by the House.”

Two bills including the Jan Vishwas Bill were passed in the Lok Sabha today. Another was passed earlier this week, after the Opposition’s no-confidence motion was accepted by the Speaker. Pointing to the bills, Mr Tewari quoted from “Practice and Procedure of Parliament” by MN Kaul and SL Shakhdhar.

“When the leave of the house to the moving of a motion of ‘No confidence’ has been granted no substantive motion on Policy matters is to be brought before the house by the government till the motion of no confidence is not disposed off,” he wrote.

Sources said the discussion on the no-confidence motion is likely next week too, but well after Monday.

On Tuesday, October 1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi – who has to respond to the debate — is expected to visit Maharashtra. So the no-confidence motion can be discussed, answered and voted on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Monsoon Session of Parliament will continue till August 11 and the government has a long list of bills it needs to push through.

The most controversial of them is the bill to replace the Ordinance that wrests power to control bureaucrats from the elected government of Delhi, which the Opposition is determined not to allow through Rajya Sabha.

But numbers indicate that the government is in a strong position. Today, the ruling YSR Congress of Andhra Pradesh declared that it would back the government both in the No-Confidence Motion and the Delhi bill, ensuring that the numbers are stacked firmly in favour of the government.

The Rajya Sabha currently has 238 members, with the majority mark at 120.

The BJP and its allies have 105 members and will have the support of nine YSRCP MPs. The ruling party is also confident of the support of five nominated and two independent MPs, which takes its numbers to 121. Around 105 Opposition members are against the Delhi Ordinance.