As Monsoon Session of Parliament nears,Congress is gearing up to challenge two big legislative proposals: Delimitation Bill and Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill. Jairam Ramesh,Congress' communications chief,said he's confident united Opposition can block these bills,calling them dangerous and diabolical.
The Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill wants automatic dismissal of Prime Minister,Chief Ministers,Ministers if detained 30 days straight. Ramesh stressed government lacks needed support to pass these,despite recent splits in Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT). “We are ready for 2-D Bills — Delimitation and Dismissal,” he declared,showing party's readiness.
Back in April,Opposition beat Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill,aimed at redistributing Lok Sabha seats based on 2011 Census. Ramesh noted government needed two-thirds majority of 352 votes but got only 298 from 528 members present. Government now claims 324 votes,still not enough.
Ramesh warned government might try to manipulate voting by arranging abstentions to lower majority threshold. But he doubted these tricks would work to pass bills. “Even if they arrange for abstentions,they are still substantially short of required number,” he asserted .
Despite recent Opposition splits,Ramesh insisted collaboration among parties is strong. He cited April vote,where all nine Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs and 22 of 28 Trinamool MPs opposed bill . “I don’t underestimate the challenges . It's a tightrope walk,but I'm confident we'll stop both Bills,” he said.
On Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) possibly distancing from Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA),Ramesh claimed no sign of DMK shift towards BJP. He noted DMK skipped recent INDIA meeting but joined Aam Aadmi Party in signing memo to Chief Justice of India on electoral issues.
Ramesh slammed ex-Trinamool MPs joining National Citizens Party of India,calling their move incongruous and immoral given past votes against bill. He alleged split in Trinamool and Shiv Sena (UBT) was orchestrated by Home Minister Amit Shah,calling it a response to Opposition's earlier win.
The Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill now with Joint Parliamentary Committee led by Aparajita Sarangi of BJP,report due before Monsoon Session starts July 20. Ramesh warned of dismissal bill's dangers,could destabilize state governments through misuse of investigative agencies.
On delimitation,Ramesh clarified Congress doesn't oppose principle but worries over execution. He criticized government's rush,contrasting with six years Delimitation Commission took under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. “Delimitation shouldn't be like it was in Jammu and Kashmir or Assam. There,it was gerrymandering,not delimitation,” he concluded.
