Parl Budget session: Will Singhvi video submerge key Bills?

New Delhi, Apr 24: With the Parliament session convening for the second part of the Budget session on Tuesday, the same is expected to see fireworks galore. From the Collector’s abduction, the Army Chief’s bribery claims and to top it all the controversial CD row allegedly featuring former Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi will be discussed and debated.

The recent comment by Chief Economic Adviser Kaushik Basu that India was unlikely to pursue any major economic reforms until after 2014 parliamentary elections will also be highlighted and tear into the UPA when the Parliament convenes. Among the important bills, the UPA is seeking a smooth passage of the Pension Regulatory Bill, the Insurance Bill and the Banking Reforms Bill.

According to sources, the government wants to push the Finance Bill first and foremost ahead of all the other Bills. There are other key legislations that have been in the pipeline for a while. Certain key legislations of the Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry are pending that was hijacked by Congress MPs. Also, pending is the Citizen Redressal and Companies bills.

Apart from these Bills, the Opposition wants to cause the maximum damage to the UPA by highlighting the Naxal menace, the defence related scams and other key economic reforms. The fact that Abhishek Manu Singhvi quit all party posts has come as a reprieve to the shamed UPA government. He also called it quits from his post of Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice. But the matter is sure to be brought up in the floor of the House.

Announcing his resignation from party posts, Singhvi in a written statement said, "I have done this only to prevent even the slightest possible Parliamentary disruption regarding the purported CDs being circulated about me."

He added, “I wish to categorically state that canards and baseless allegations are being spread about alleged inappropriate conversation in the CD. People inimically opposed to me, who have assiduously spent over 10 days hearing, seeing, amplifying and distilling the CD have found no vestige of any reference, not even remotely, to any illegality, corrupt practice, or wrongdoing.”

Certain objectionable sections of the CD were leaked on the internet further causing shame to the UPA. The BJP is not ready to take it easy by demanding that, if the CD was genuine, it should be sent to the ethics committee and if it was forged it should be sent to the privileges committee.

OneIndia News