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Political Notes

	March 03, 2008

UPA to lose majority in Rajya Sabha



The Election Commission has announced that crucial biennial elections to fill 56 seats in the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Parliament, from 17 states falling vacant in April would be held on March 26. Counting of votes will take place on the same day.



The UPA is likely to be reduced to a minority in the Rajya Sabha after the biennial elections, going by the strength of various parties in State Assemblies. With this, the ruling combine may face problems in passing legislation in the election year before next year’s Lok Sabha polls.



The trend where the government does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha is not new. Earlier also several governments have faced the problem. The Janata Party regime which came to power in 1977 did not have a majority in the Upper House and many of its important bills were defeated there. Even Rajiv Gandhi’s famous Panchayati Raj Bill was rejected by the Rajya Sabha. The BJP-led NDA Government witnessed the motion for approving President’s rule in Bihar dismissing Lalu Prasad Yadav’s government getting defeated in the Rajya Sabha. As a consequence, Lalu Yadav’s government had to be restored.



Observers say, the UPA would have to placate Mayawati’s BSP and Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party to get crucial bills like Communal Violence Bill and the Foreign Contribution Regulation Bill through the Rajya Sabha.



Members working to finish democracy: Speaker



With NDA and UNPA members protesting over the plight of farmers, Parliament’s functioning was affected for several days last week. The presiding officers expressed dismay at the tactics of opposition members in pressing their view point. In the Lok Sabha on February 28, except for allowing the tabling of the Economic Survey and some other reports, the opposition members continued in the well raising slogans, forcing Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to adjourn the House. From the treasury benches, RJD members entered the well protesting against the attack on north Indians in Maharashtra.



Ahead of the first adjournment, the Speaker reprimanded the agitating members: “You are all working overtime to finish democracy.”



Similar scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Both times the House assembled, Samajwadi Party members were the first to enter the well, followed by MPs of the BJP and the Telugu Desam Party.



When it met for the second time, Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan asked Ministers to lay papers and later took up the motion of thanks on the President’s address. With the din not subsiding, he adjourned the House.



Annual parliamentary lecture instituted



Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Sunday, Feb 24, announced the setting up of an annual Parliamentary lecture. The first in the series would be delivered by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.



The series of lectures have been named after outstanding parliamentarian Hiren Mukherjee.



Separately, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said that a recent conference of whips had recommended that the number of days during which an Assembly or Parliament must remain in session every year should be made mandatory.



It was also recommended, with support from whips of different parties, that Question Hour should not be disturbed and recommendations of standing committees be made binding on governments.





Keep off economic policies: Apex court tells judiciary



In a judgement reiterating judicial restraint, the Supreme Court said on February 26 that the courts should not interfere in matters relating to economic and financial policies. The court said it would amount to encroaching into the domain of the Executive and the Legislature. But the Supreme Court justified the judiciary’s activist role in protecting civil liberties and fundamental rights of citizens.



“The court does not consist of economic or administrative experts. It has no expertise in these matters and in this age of specialization, when policies have to be laid down with great care after consulting specialists in the field, it will be wholly unwise for the court to encroach into the domain of the executive and the legislature,” a bench of Justices H.K. Sema and Markandeya Katju said.



Setting aside an Andhra Pradesh High Court order, the apex court upheld the constitutional validity of section 47A of the Indian Stamp Act, (as amended by “AP Act 8 of 1998) aimed at checking under-valuation of property at the time of registration. The High Court had declared the state amendment as unconstitutional.



Writing the judgement for the bench, Justice Katju said: “It is the solemn duty of the courts to uphold the civil rights and liberties of citizens against executive or legislative invasion, and the court cannot sit quiet in this situation, but must play an activist role in upholding civil liberties and the fundamental rights.”





Ghising resigns



Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) chief Subhas Ghising resigned on Feb. 29 from the Gorkha Hill Council which he had been heading as a caretaker chairman for over two years.



Consequently, the anti-Ghising Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) withdrew its indefinite strike and fasting which had entered the 18th day.



GJM chairman Bimal Gurung directed the party workers and their supporters to call off the strike and help the district administration in the restoration of normalcy in the hills.



Subhas Ghising on Feb. 29 met Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee at Writers Buildings for the second successive day after Bhattacharjee's meeting with the GJM delegation led by Gurung.



During his meeting with Ghising, Bhattacharjee made it clear to him that he would have to resign forthwith to bring peace to the hills as the majority of the hill population was against him.



Bhattacharjee told Ghising that the government would hold the elections to the hill council at an early date. He could again become chairman, if the hill people so wanted.





House panel gives in, reluctantly



Meanwhile, a Parliamentary panel has reluctantly cleared constitutional amendments to extend Sixth Schedule status to Darjeeling but asked the Centre to reassess the ground realities before putting the legislation to vote in Parliament. “The committee would like to caution and advise the Ministry of Home Affairs to make a fresh assessment of ground realities before proceeding with the bills in Parliament,” the Standing Committee on Home Ministry, headed by the BJP’s Sushma Swaraj, said in its report to Parliament. The panel dropped enough hints that it was taking the assertion of the Home Ministry and West Bengal government – that the legislation would fulfil the aspirations of the people of Darjeeling and there would not be any serious law and order problem. – with a pinch of salt.



The panel had explored the possibility of determining the ground situation by visiting the region but was advised against it by the local administration in view of the possibility of unrest. The committee said it, thus, had to rely on the official statements.





TRS MPs to resign today



Reports say, Telangana Rashtra Samithi MPs will resign from Parliament today (March 3) after moving an Adjournment Motion against the United Progressive Alliance government’s alleged failure to fulfil the promise of separate Telangana.



After registering their protest in the Lok Sabha, the four MPs, including K. Chandrasekhar Rao, will submit their resignations to Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.



After their resignations, the party leaders plan to reach Hyderabad and start their series of protest rallies by touring all the districts of Telengana region.



While reiterating his commitment for separate Telangana, Rao vowed to "finish off" the Congress, as "the Telangana dream cannot be realised as long as the Congress party continues to exist".



Jogi acquitted of murder charge



A Sessions court in Ranchi on Saturday March 1, acquitted former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi of charges of criminal conspiracy and murder of NCP leader Ram Avtar Jaggi, who was shot dead on June 4, 2006.



“The court discharged Jogi after it was found that there was no prima facie case against him,” Hashim Khan, who represented Jogi in the case, said. Reacting to the verdict, Jogi said: “The truth has prevailed. It was a conspiracy against me but today’s verdict has reaffirmed my faith in the judiciary.”



Jogi was arrested on March 18 in the midst of an election campaign for the Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha constituency. Saturday’s decision comes after the verdict delivered by a special court on May 31, 2007, acquitting his son Amit Jogi of similar charges. However, around 19 persons were sentenced to life terms and nine others were given rigorous imprisonment in the same case.