New Delhi: On the second day of the Budget session of Parliament on Tuesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to corner the government on the contentious Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha.
Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley has given a notice for the suspension of the Question Hour as the party is in no mood to give up the contentious Lokpal issue which had led to adjournment of the Upper House on the night of December 29 without passing the Bill.
"The reason government gave then is that it wants more time to go through those amendments moved by the members. By now, it has had enough time to study them," Jaitley said on Monday, adding that his party will demand that the Lokpal Bill debate be the first business that the Upper House takes up in the Budget session.
The BJP leader insisted that the opposition wants an "adequate reply" from the government on this issue in Parliament.
The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on the December 27, 2011 when the winter session was extended by three days. But the Bill couldn't be passed in the Rajya Sabha and both the government and the Opposition accused each other of carrying out 'choreographed chaos' to scuttle the legislation.
Minister of State in PMO V Narayanasamy had begun his reply to the debate when the House was adjourned by Chairman Hamid Ansari on the grounds that there was no order in the House.
Deputy leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha SS Ahluwalia indicated that smooth conduct of the House on Tuesday and in the subsequent days may not be possible if the government does not relent to this demand.
"On December 29, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned abruptly at 12 midnight and the government maintained that there were so many amendments moved by the members and it would have to go through them.... I can show you several precedents where the House has continued to function till it completes its business," Ahluwalia said.
He insisted that the BJP wants the discussions to be completed and would pose a question to the government as to why this should not be done.
"On January 5, a delegation of BJP MPs had met the President to demand that the Lokpal Bill debate be completed in Rajya Sabha," Ahluwalia said.
He charged that the government had committed a "foul" on December 29 and cannot commit "another foul now" by evading completion of the debate.
Asked if the BJP is also trying to get on board other opposition parties on the Lokpal Bill, he said, "The unity is there. It has not been broken."
Later Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the chief trouble-shooter of the government, met BJP leaders Jaitley, his Lok Sabha counterpart Sushma Swaraj, LK Advani and Yashwant Sinha.
The Opposition had charged the government with running away from vote because of lack of majority in the House. A worried government has now begun reaching out to Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in an attempt to consolidate its numbers amidst speculation of a Third Front and mid term polls.
Meanwhile, the BJP and other parties have also given a notice for amendments to the presidential address and to take up the NCTC issue.
Among the other important bills lined up for consideration and passing are the Land Acquisition Bill, the Grievance Redressal Bill, the Whistleblower's Protection Bill, the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill, the Pension Fund Regulatory Authority Bill, the Judges Accountability Bill, the Women's Reservation Bill and the Seeds Bill.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the government has listed 30 new bills for introduction and 39 bills for consideration and passing.
Among the bills listed for introduction are the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill, the Piracy Bill, the Agricultural Biosecurity Bill and the Public Procurement Bill.
The General Budget for 2012-2013 will be presented on March 16. During the session, the Finance Bill 2012 is listed for introduction, consideration and passing.
The Railways Budget for 2012-2013 will be presented to the Lok Sabha on March 14 followed by the Economic Survey on March 15.
(With additional information from PTI and IANS)
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