Monsoon session will be stormy
By Nitya Chakraborty
The UPA-2 government headed by Dr. Manmohan Singh will be facing a confrontationist BJP in the monsoon session of Parliament beginning August 1. The Government had planned a lot of reforms bills for discussions in the session for giving a push to the second phase of reforms in the economy, but the BJP leadership is dead set to stall any move by the Congress to continue normal proceedings of the session.
The BJP leadership at the highest level has come to the conclusion that this Government has lost its steam and there is a sort of paralysis in the functioning of the Government. At political level, the Congress Party leaders are fighting amongst themselves and this has come out openly even amongst the senior leaders. BJP thinks that this is a major opportunity to strike at the ruling UPA-2 and no quarters are to be given to the UPA-2 government in claiming any credit on the economy front.
As a consequence of this position, the BJP state governments are opposing the introduction of the Goods and Sales Tax (GST) at this stage and the BJP leadership has indicated that the BJP-led state governments will also be opposing the Centre’s proposal on allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail. The centre has just sent the proposal to the state governments for their comments after getting which the Industry Ministry will be preparing its note for the cabinet.
As regards the other controversial bill-the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, the BJP is playing a game with the Congress. The party is in a mood to take revenge on the Congress by delaying the introduction of the Insurance Bill so that the Congress efforts to pass the Bill in the monsoon session, do not succeed. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the US investment bankers in Washington recently that his Government is serious in pushing through the Insurance Bill but a political consensus has to be evolved and he is trying for that. In fact, he refused to set any deadline for the passing of the Bill.
The senior leaders of the BJP will be meeting later this month to hold full fledged discussions on the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill which is presently pending with the Standing Committee on Finance of Parliament headed by the BJP Lok Sabha member Mr. Yashwant Sinha. The draft of the report on the Bill is ready and the next meeting is supposed to give its final approval to the report so that it can be presented in the beginning of the monsoon session of Parliament beginning August 1.
BJP wants that it will assess the provisions of the draft Bill prepared by the Government in the light of the discussions that took place at number of meetings of the SCF on this Bill itself. The BJP leadership wants to have a thorough appraisal of the present status of the country’s insurance sector and the future challenges facing the industry before taking up a final position on the major provision of the Bill stipulating the hike in the FDI cap from the existing 26 per cent to 49 per cent.
According to a senior BJP leader, the Government is anxious in passing the Bill in the monsoon session of Parliament and the Finance Minister therefore wants the SCF chairman Mr. Sinha to finalise the report in a hurry and present it to Parliament, but the Government’s’ proposal lacks safeguards and it can not be allowed in the form the ministry has drafted the Bill.
The BJP sources say that the members belonging to the BJP and the other opposition parties have made a number of suggestions including changes in the draft and the Government should act on the basis of the collective wisdom of the SCF members taken together. The BJP’s line of argument is that when one talks about allowing more FDI in the insurance sector, the role of the foreign insurance companies in the recent global slowdown has to be assessed and India should not allow a situation when the foreign parties start withdrawing investment if they face adverse situations in countries outside India.
The BJP leaders will assess the FDI hike issue taking a total perspective and India needs to put in several riders before allowing 49 per cent FDI in insurance. BJP sources also mention that their Party will consider giving special consideration to the health insurance and they will like the foreign investors to give guarantee about their participation in the rural market. People have to be given affordable health care facilities by the foreign companies.
BJP sources give enough indication that the Congress can not have one way traffic in respect of the approval of the reports of the Parliamentary committees. While the Congress is not allowing PAC chairman Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi to submit his report on 2G scam, it wants another BJP leader and chairman of the SCF Mr. Yashwant Sinha to organize approval to the final report on Insurance Bill for the benefit of the Government in passing the Bill in monsoon session. BJP can not allow such opportunism, the sources point out.
All indications suggest that the BJP will be taking a tough position at the next SFC meeting to finalise the draft of the Insurance Bill and much will depend on a political deal between the Congress led UPA-2 and the BJP on the eve of the Parliament session. (IPA Service)