Wednesday, Mar 20, 2002
Wednesday, Mar 20, 2002 |
| Front Page | ||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Front Page
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19. The Vajpayee Government has finalised a plan to request the President, K.R. Narayanan, to convene a joint session of Parliament - most probably on March 26 - to pass the Prevention of Terrorism (POTO) Bill in the event of the Rajya Sabha defeating the bill passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday. With the numbers stacked up against the Government in the Upper House, the ruling party has no illusion about the fate of the bill, when it comes up for consideration on March 21. The Government's calculations suggest that those opposed to the bill outnumber those in its favour by about 25 in the Rajya Sabha. But a large number of independent and nominated members of the House make exact calculations difficult and the numbers on the two sides, may, in fact, be much closer. A constitutional provision allows the Government to call for a joint session in the event of a ``conflict of opinion'' between the two Houses. If the session takes place on March 26, it will be the third time this provision is used. On May 6 and 9, 1961, there was a two-day joint session to pass the Dowry Prohibition Bill. And on May 16, 1978, a joint sitting was convened to adopt the Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Bill. According to the Constitution, if a bill is defeated in the Rajya Sabha, the Government will send a note to the President requesting him to call for a joint session. The President will then communicate his message to both the Houses. The Parliamentary Affairs Minister will write to the Lok Sabha Speaker (in this instance, the Deputy Speaker) and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The joint House will meet in the Central Hall of Parliament with the Speaker (now the Deputy Speaker) in the Chair. Although there have been some attempts by the Treasury benches to sell the view that the Congress is divided on POTO, the fact is that in the Lok Sabha it voted against it and will do so in the Rajya Sabha. The party spokesperson, Jaipal Reddy, said categorically ``we will do everything possible to defeat POTO in the Rajya Sabha and again in the joint session.'' Whips have been issued on both sides of the political divide, and the ruling combine and the Opposition are trying to ensure that there is no absenteeism. There are also reports that the Congress may move a statutory resolution disapproving POTO, but even if that goes through, it will not make a material difference to the final outcome. In the Lok Sabha, a number of MPs - both from the Opposition and the ruling coalition - remained absent when the bill was voted upon on Monday, 264 in favour and 148 against. The Trinamool Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party MPs either walked out or were absent. The legislation, being sponsored by the Government as the solution for terrorism, has resulted in some turmoil in both the Opposition and the Treasury camps. In the Lok Sabha, the AIADMK voted in favour, along with the DMK, and the Trinamool, a member of the NDA, walked out in protest. Even today, the BJP spokesperson, V. K. Malhotra, tried to equate ``opposition to POTO'' with ``encouragement to terrorists'' and he denied, what was evident, that this very same plank had been used by his party in the recent round of Assembly elections in which it was defeated.
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | Home |
Copyright © 2002, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|