Reform Bills unlikely in current LS session

The UPA government may decide to play safe and not bring contentious legislative bills during the current session of the Lok Sabha.

According to a Cabinet minister, the UPA’s focus during the remaining period of the Budget session will be on passing the Right to Education Bill. Apart from this, the government is planning to bring a Bill to amend the Rubber Act and the National Commission for Heritage Sites Bill.

The government will be occupied till July 27 with the General Budget, as contained in the Finance Bill. It will actually not get more than seven days to deal with other legislative business. The session ends on August 7.

Today, Speaker Meira Kumar had convened the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting to discuss the Lok Sabha’s agenda for next week. There, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the government will bring the two Bills related to the Rubber Act and heritage sites.

To his close quarters, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has also indicated he doesn’t want to rush to pursue the reforms agenda. Mukherjee, who likes to call himself a “conservative economist”, feels there is enough time for the government to address the issues related to reforms.

This means the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill or the banking amendments are unlikely to come during this session. The PFRDA Bill seeks to formalise a new defined contributory pension scheme introduced for government employees from January 2004 and extend it to the unorganised sector.

According to top sources, the much-hyped Food Securities Bill is also unlikely to be introduced during this session, as it is still “under preparation”.

The Insurance Bill had already been tabled in the Rajya Sabha early this year, during the first UPA government’s tenure. It is currently pending with the Standing Committee on Finance, as the panel is yet to be reconstituted in the new Lok Sabha.

There is no chance for the Bill to be passed during the current session.