Opposition makes for heavy going in Rajya Sabha session

Bills not resisted in Lok Sabha run into winter of discontent in Upper House

Members of Parliament from the Rajya Sabha, especially from the Opposition, are considering going home. "Chhutti! (holiday)," said one morosely when asked if any useful outcome could be expected in the remaining four working days of the winter session, scheduled to conclude on December 23.

On Wednesday again, the Upper House managed to do very little as the Opposition continued to block the House unless the Prime Minister presented himself and explained the government's position on religious conversion. The PM may come to the House on Thursday, but disruptions are likely to continue.

Evident is the disconnect between the Lok Sabha, where the government has majority, and the Rajya Sabha, where a combined Opposition has majority. Leveraging its strength in the Upper House, the Congress-led Opposition is nuancing its political position, saving its strength for the battles it believes it can win instead of wasting it on ones it knows it can't.

This was clear from the Lok Sabha debate on the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2014, which will replace the coal ordinance. No Opposition MP pressed for division, a parliamentary device that forces members to state their voting preference. The Trinamool Congress, which is vociferous in the Rajya Sabha and needs little provocation to troop to the well of the House, was politeness personified in the Lok Sabha. Saugata Roy, its MP, said about an amendment he had moved, "Sir, I do not want to ask for separately moving the amendments and for asking division. We are in a hurry to pass the Bill. All I would ask the honourable minister is to correct the language in the Bill." He was content when minister of state for power Piyush Goel told him his concerns would be looked into.

In the Rajya Sabha, the Congress would still like to get the insurance Bill, which it has accepted is its own baby, passed. But it is in danger of being isolated because of the relentless pressure of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Trinamool Congress. "On this issue, if they don't do what we ask them, they know they will stand alone" said a CPI(M) MP about the Congress.

Congress leaders say they've dealt a double blow. On the one hand, they cannot oppose the legislation they themselves had proposed.

On the other, there is very little clarity on the specific issues on which legislation should be opposed. On the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia asked the government to tweak the Bill and refer it to a standing committee - but he did not reject it outright.The Lok Sabha passed the Bill by voice vote and perhaps knowing they were staring at defeat, this was never challenged by the Opposition.

In the Rajya Sabha, the Opposition is raising the costs for the government through polemic instead of debate. But because the ruling party's base is low, the performance looks impressive. In the winter session in 2013, which was in two parts, the first being from December 5 to December 18, the Rajya Sabha transacted 19 per cent business and 27 per cent business (February 5 to 21) respectively.

In the winter session of 2014, the Rajya Sabha has so far passed nine Bills. Any more being passed in the remaining duration of the session is unlikely.
BILLS PASSED ONLY IN LOK SABHA

• Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2014
• Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2014
• Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) amendment Bill, 2014
• Appropriation (No 4) Bill, 2014
• The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2014
• The Payment and Settlement Systems (Amendment) Bill, 2014
• National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Amendment Bill, 2014

BILLS PASSED IN BOTH HOUSES

• The Labour Laws (Exemption from Furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers by Certain Establishments) Amendment Bill, 2014
• The Apprentices (Amendment) Bill, 2014
• The Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2014
• The Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill, 2014
• The Indian Institutes of Information Technology Bill, 2014
• The School of Planning and Architecture Bill, 2014
• The Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Laws (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2014
• The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2014
• The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2014