Cabinet nod to ordinance for expenditure

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod for issuing two ordinances, including one to authorise expenditure beyond Friday in Uttarakhand in view of the political crisis there. The Cabinet, chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Brussels, met to also approve another ordinance that seeks to bring in changes in the Enemy Property Act, 1968.     

The Cabinet recommended re-promulgation of an earlier ordinance issued in January as Parliament could not pass a bill to replace it within the stipulated time.

The President had on the recommendation of the government prorogued the Budget session of Parliament to facilitate promulgation of the two ordinances.

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the union cabinet met in light of the developments in Uttarakhand. He said that the Uttarakhand Assembly could not pass the Appropriation Bill on March 18.

 

"In the absence of any legal passage of the bill, no withdrawal can be done as far as Uttarakhand government is concerned from the Consolidated Fund of India. Since the state is under President's Rule and no budget could be passed earlier, today the Cabinet has recommended an Appropriation Ordinance for Uttarakhand, so that valid withdrawal of the government revenue can be done," Prasad said.

Under Article 357(1)(c) of the Constitution, the President can authorise, when the House of the People is not in session, the expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India pending the sanction of such expenditure by Parliament. For this the Lok Sabha should not to be in session.

On the Uttarakhand issue, the Centre has maintained that the Harish Rawat-led Congress government in the state was reduced to a minority on March 18 when 35 MLAs in the assembly voted against the Appropriation Bill and 32 in favour. These 35 MLAs included 27 the BJP and the rest were rebel Congress legislators.

Today, the cabinet also approved re-promulgating an ordinance to amend the Enemy Property Act, 1968. The government had brought in a Bill to amend the law. The Lok Sabha passed the Bill but the Rajya Sabha referred it to a select committee. The earlier ordinance was to expire in the first week of April. "Therefore that Ordinance has also been repromulgated till the receipt of the report of the Select Committee," Prasad said.

The first half of the Budget session was from February 23 to March 16, before it went into a recess to meet for the second half on April 25. The President will now need to convene a fresh session of Parliament.

Ends