The Finance Bill, Appropriations Bill, the Rail Budget and the Demands for Grants of various Ministries are likely to be passed in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday without any discussions.
The Government and the principal Opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, have reached an agreement that the House would be allowed to function on Tuesday to ensure the passage of these legislations.
“All financial business will be taken up in Parliament tomorrow,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Kamal Nath, told reporters after an all-party meeting, chaired by Speaker Meira Kumar.
The BJP said it would allow the passage to avert a Constitutional crisis. BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said Opposition Leader Sushma Swaraj would speak on Tuesday explaining the reasons for the BJP’s protests in both Houses on the draft report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on spectrum allocations and on the coal scam.
BJP sources indicated that the party MPs would walk out after Swaraj’s speech.
“BJP is a responsible opposition and if these Bills are not passed, there will be a Constitutional crisis. After their passage, our agitation will continue,” Javadekar told reporters.
The other parties are unhappy with the “truce” between the two “big” parties. “We don’t understand this anxiety of the Government,” said Biju Janta Dal leader, Bhartruhari Mahtab.
“They could have done this next week, enabling a proper debate on all the Bills and demands for grants. Both the big parties have colluded to subvert the conventions in Parliament,” Mahtab added.
The House will have to pass the financial legislations within 75 days of tabling the Budget.
“The Government insisted in the all-party meeting that the Bills have to be passed before 6 p.m on Tuesday. Parties will not get even five minutes to speak on these crucial Bills. They have made a mockery of the system,” Mahtab added.
Déjà vu?
MPs point out that situation of passing the Finance Bill without any discussions happened in the House twice in the recent past. First, when the AIADMK pulled out the support to the Vajpayee Government in April 1999 and second in 2004, when the Opposition protested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s “insulting” behaviour towards them.
Kamal Nath said there was no talk of adjourning Parliament sine die before May 10.
“It is unfortunate that in the last five days Parliament did not run. I am optimistic and hopeful that the House will function,” he added.