Govt to get all ordinances cleared before long recess

The Parliamentary Affairs Ministry on Saturday reiterated its determination to get Bills passed to replace all six Ordinances before Parliament goes into a monthlong recess on March 20 for department-wise review of budget demands. Five of these Bills, including controversial insurance bill, were passed by the Lok Sabha this week while the last land acquisition bill is listed before the House for consideration on Monday and Tuesday. All the Bills cleared by the Lok Sabha will come up before the Rajya Sabha next week, the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill for legalising erickshaw and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill coming up on Monday itself.

The government will also try to push in the Rajya Sabha three other insurance, coal mines and citizenship bills to replace the Ordinances. Those it has kept under wrap the land acquisition bill's date with the Rajya Sabha, the party sources said it would come up on Saturday when the House has an extra sitting as they are sure it will pass the Lok Sabha muster latest by Tuesday.

"We have one full week to work on the land acquisition bill even after next Saturday, taking into account need for the Lok Sabha's approval to any changes the Opposition forces in it in the Rajya Sabha.

It is necessary since the Ordinances lapse on April 5, if not replaced by the Bills within five weeks of start of the Parliament session," a senior minister said. Instead of gambling with the insurance bill that seeks increase in foreign investments in Indian-controlled insurance companies from 26 to 49 per cent in the Rajya Sabha, the government has preferred to try out the Motor Vehicles Bill. The government's attempt to withdraw the related Bills was blocked by the Opposition on February 24 and hence it wants to see first the progress on the Motor Vehicles Bill on e-rickshaws. The Opposition will be pressing for the deputy chairman's ruling that he kept pending to study in depth when it protested at the government bringing the Bills in the Lok Sabha even when they were pending before the Rajya Sabha.