RaGa to fall back on ordinance route, again

Sources said, the bills, for which he is likely to bring ordinance are Women’s Reservation Bill, Prevention of Corruption Bill 2013, Right of Citizen to Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievance Bill 2011, the Public Procurement Bill 2013, the Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Official and Officials of Public International Organisations Bill, 2011, Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill 2010, among others.

It seems that Rahul is in a hurry to follow the ‘ordinance way’ ahead of the election to gain some traction in the wake of the BJP emerging as the stronger party in the Lok Sabha polls. Earlier, Rahul was not ‘restless’ over the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill 2010, which is pending in the Rajya Sabha, since it will not lapse in a permanent house (RS). ‘But now it seems that he is serious about this bill also,’ sources said.

On the context of why Rahul is restless over finalising the ordinance, especially for the above-mentioned four anti-corruption bills, a senior official in the union law ministry said, ‘If the bills, which are pending in the Lok Sabha, are not enacted immediately in the current session, then they will expire with the announcement of Lok Sabha election schedule. Recently, we had a meeting over this issue where union law minister Kapil Sibal was also present.’

When asked whether there will be separate ordinances for the four anti-graft bills or if they will all be merged under a single ordinance, the source said, ‘It is likely to be a single ordinance for anti-graft bills and another for women’s reservation.’

Many feel that by bringing the ordinance ahead of the polls, Rahul wants to convey the message that his party still believes in the principle of zero tolerance of corruption. Once the ordinance is brought in, it will become the next government’s duty to pass these bills in Parliament. ‘But the credit will still be with the UPA,’ senior party sources said.

Earlier, on 18 December 2013, Rahul had decided to bring in a set of six anti-corruption legislations in the aftermath of suffering a major setback in the assembly polls. Scams and 

corruption were the main issues impacting the Congress’ poll result in four big states.