Congress, Left parties force govt to defer mines Bill

Rajya Sabha will take up the mines Bill on Friday morning and the coal Bill after Question Hour at 2.30 pm

The Congress and the Left parties forced the government to defer the mines and minerals Bill in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday on the ground that states, key stakeholders in the issue, had not been consulted. They asked the government to send the Bill back to the select committee. The Centre was hoping to have both the mines and coal Bills cleared on Thursday. The House will take up the mines Bill first thing on Friday morning.

Both the Congress & Left and the government will be trying to woo the fence sitters - Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party, Nationalist Congress Party and Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam - before that.

The House had to be adjourned thrice on Thursday within two hours after the Bill was taken up at 7 pm, with Congress members of Parliament (MPs) storming the well of the House and raising slogans against the "autocratic" National Democratic Alliance government. The coal Bill will also be taken up on Friday in the House, suspending regular business there. Ordinances related to both sectors lapse on April 5.

Should the Congress and Left manage to cobble up the numbers in favour of passing the motion moved by Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s P Rajeeve under Rule 93(2) of the Rajya Sabha that empowers the House to send the Bill back to a select committee, the Bill would not be taken up for discussion. The Left parties "as of now" are confident most of the Opposition supports them on this motion. "But a lot can change in 14 hours," said a Left MP.

The government, however, could defeat the motion if it could keep the fence sitters from joining hands with the Congress and Left. Though the government is in minority in the Rajya Sabha, regional parties like the Trinamool Congress and Biju Janata Dal are supporting it on the mines and coal Bills, keeping in view "state's financial interests" from these.

Trinamool's Derek O' Brien said, "If the government can push the Bill through tomorrow [Friday], we are unconditionally on board with them, but its up to the government." The party said its concerns over "adivasis" had been taken care of in the Bill moved in the committee.

With the House not being able to transact business due to disruptions, all party leaders met in the chairman's chamber for over 40 minutes, and agreed to suspend Zero Hour on Friday and take up the Bill. After Question Hour, the coal Bill is slated to be taken up at 2.30 pm.

Emboldened by its own aggressive stance on rallying together the Opposition in the land Bill, the Congress has decided to firmly oppose the government on both Bills. Sources said this was the direction from the high command. A senior Congress leader indicated if it were forced to vote, the party would vote against the Bill as a matter of a "principled stand", fully knowing they would be defeated.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu was confident till Thursday afternoon the government would get cleared both the Bills, after which the mines Bill with amendments would have been sent back to the Lok Sabha to be cleared afresh.

In the business advisory committee meeting, too, he had brushed aside Congress's warnings that they would not allow the Bill to be discussed. In the evening, however, a government minister said "consultations are on with other parties to ensure they stick with us" so that the legislative business remained on track and it could clear the Bills on Friday.

The Opposition's game plan is to continue with their delaying tactics, raising slogans and not allowing the House to function, should it not manage on the number front. However, a senior Opposition leader admitted the government could manage the numbers as far as the content of the Bill goes, although the same parties might not approve the procedure in the select committee.

When CPM's P Rajeev moved the motion, it was refuted by leader of the House, Arun Jaitley, citing other rules. However, several lawyer MPs from the Congress and Left parties countered him. Congress ensured no ruling could be given by the deputy chairman due to the disruptions.

Naidu beseeched members, "Please cooperate and understand the difficulties of the government." He said since Friday was the last day of the first part of the Budget session, the session would have to be extended. However, there has not been any decision on the extension yet.