Did not opt for ordinances as less time left: Congress

The Congress Thursday said the United Progressive Alliance government had dropped the idea of bringing in ordinances on some anti-corruption bills as a few weeks were left of its current term in office.

Answering queries from media persons at the party office here, union minister Shashi Tharoor said that the government had thought of the ordinance route on the some pending anti-corruption bills only because these could not be passed in parliament.

The Congress ideally wanted these bills to be passed in parliament but opposition had "not allowed (the parliament) to function" properly through disruptions in several sessions, said Tharoor, the minister of state for human resource development.

He said the issue of ordinances was discussed in the cabinet after the bills could not be passed in the last session of 15th Lok Sabha last month.

"There was discussion in the cabinet about propriety (of bringing ordinances)," he said, adding that there was a view that "so little shelf life left (of the government) so we should not proceed".

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had pitched for ordinances on some anti-corruption bills after the parliament session ended.

The Election Commission Wednesday announced schedule of Lok Sabha elections Wednesday, and the model code of conduct has come into force.