Winter session: Will politics play spoilsport?

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Bikky Khosla | 25 Nov, 2014
The Winter session of the Parliament is going to be a testing one for the Modi-led NDA government. An extensive list of business has been lined up for the session, including some major issues, such as Goods and Services Tax, coal mine allocation, amendments in Land Acquisition Bill, labour law reform, Insurance Act amendment, changes in MGNREGS, etc. each of which are with enough potential to catapult into major controversies, lead to ruckus in the House and result in days of adjournment or even washing out of the entire session, causing colossal losses of valuable public money.

The government, which lacks majority in the Rajya Sabha, has reasons to worry. It has been reported that Congress is likely to oppose any changes in the land acquisition law and the MGNREGS. They are likely to resort to disruptive and delaying tactics in the Parliament. Similarly, some other parties like JD (U), CPM, BSP and SP -- as revealed by a Rajya Sabha MP recently -- will together oppose FDI hike in insurance sector. Absence of TMC and SP leaders at the all-party meeting called by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister on Sunday also gives a hint of trouble brewing.

In the above scenario, I think it will not be an easy task for the government to push legislative reforms during the Winter session. In a statement, the Shiv Sena has said that it would continue supporting the government at the Centre. In addition, it has also came to be known that the government is planning to use the joint sitting route to get past the numbers deficit in the RS. But still I think a difficult task lies ahead for the NDA. The opposition parties, instead of blindly pursuing an obstructionist agenda, should show a constructive approach to support much-needed economic reforms.

Particularly, I am concerned about the fate of three crucial bills: first, the GST Bill that seeks to introduce the biggest reforms in India's tax history by unifying and harmonizing indirect taxes across the nation; second, the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill that seeks to make land acquisition easier for industry; and third, the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill that seeks to raise the FDI limit in insurance sector to 49%. Healthy debate is welcome, but the political parties should rise over partisan issues to help the nation and its economy. Unfortunately, till now the way politics is playing does not offer encouraging signals.

I invite your opinions.