Govt braces for Opp fury, key bills on radar

The parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said: “Passing Bills to replace Ordinances promulgated in the inter-session period, will be the government’s priority in the coming week of the Budget session. Bills to replace six Ordinances on different issues will be taken up first in the Lok Sabha.”

“The Business Advisory Committees of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have discussed the legislative business proposed by the government for the second week of the Parliament session and allotted a time period for different Bills,” he said.

According to the parliamentary affairs ministry, two of the bills - The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2015 and The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill 2014 - have been listed for consideration and passing in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Statutory Resolutions disapproving the ordinances will also be taken up along with the Bills. Once passed through the Lok Sabha, the government aims to take the bills to the upper house in the same week. As per a statement from the ministry, Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2015 and The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill 2015 have also been listed for introduction on Monday. Likewise, a bill to replace the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Ordinance has been listed for introduction in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The sixth and the most controversial Ordinance – to amend the Land Acquisition Act has already been introduced in the Lok Sabha. The statement, however, did not mention when it will be taken up for consideration and passing. Among other Bills, The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2015 is listed for introduction in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill 2015, which has been passed by the Rajya Sabha last week will also be taken up in the lower house. The bills to be taken up in the Rajya Sabha include The Companies (Amendment) Bill 2014 and The Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Bill 2014. The government has also proposed for the consideration and passing of the Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill 2014. As per the provisions of the Constitution, all the six Ordinances have to be replaced by Acts of Parliament by April 5.