Govt in a fix after SC order on Delhi sealings

New Delhi, Nov 7: The Government has no intention to bring in any legislation in Parliament in the coming session to provide one-time amnesty to traders in view of yesterday's Supreme Court's observations rapping the government on the matter.

"As of now they have no plans to come out with a bill to provide relief to the 40,000 odd traders who had filed affidavit in the Apex Court," a top official of the Urban Development Ministry told UNI.

Sources in the Ministry felt that the Court had doubted the intentions of the Government to carry out its order and therefore it has no plans to go against the wishes of the court.

"I do not know if there is any escape route now left with the Government after the Supreme Court order," the sources said.

Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy, however, said that the Group of Ministers would brief Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the matter. "We have nothing to say to the media," he added.

Ministry sources were also quite apprehensive about the Opposition's stand on the sealing issue. Though the main Opposition party, BJP, is demanding the government to come out with a legislation to provide amnesty to the traders as was done in the case of black money, it is a difficult proposition as the Parliament session has already been convened.

There are no chance that the Ministry's earlier bill to defer sealing by one year can be put in the 9th schedule, unless the Opposition strongly put pressure on the government on the matter, sources said.

Leader of the Opposition L K Advani had not said any thing on the matter although the BJP was considered to be a traders party, Congress sources said.

Meanwhile, the BJP in its official reaction to today's Delhi Bandh said the whole law and order machinery in the capital had collapsed. It seemed that there was no Government in power here.

"The Government has neither a will nor any plan to provide any relief to the traders,'' BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

Holding the Centre and the Sheila Dikshit Government responsible for the present situation in Delhi, Mr Javadekar said the BJP had already demanded the one-time amnesty for the shopowners in residential areas.

Besides, a Bill should be re-prepared to put on hold the sealing drive by one year and the Government should not delay any further to bring out the Delhi's Master Plan 2021 with necessary amendments so that such situations did not recur in future, he added.

As far as BJP was concerned it would continue its struggle till it got justice for the people of the metropolis, Mr Javadekar said.

UNI

Related Stories