New Delhi: The logjam in both Houses of Parliament over Manipur violence continued again today and there were reports of the Opposition parties planning to move a no-confidence motion against the government tomorrow.
While the Opposition parties are resolute in demanding the Prime Minister’s presence in the House to discuss the Manipur violence, they refused to yield to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s request to cooperate in the functioning of Parliament. In the process, even Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s exercise of convening an all-party meeting of floor leaders proved futile as the Opposition floor leaders insisted on a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Government’s stand so far is that Home Minister Shah would reply to the debate on Manipur violence, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal told reporters.
Shah in a letter addressed to the Opposition wrote the government was ready to discuss the issue. However, later addressing a press conference, Gaurav Gogoi, Deputy Leader of Indian National Congress in Lok Sabha, said: “We have heard the ministers of the ruling party saying that they are ready for a discussion, we have said we are ready for a discussion. The only person who has not said anything inside Parliament, the only person who has not been seen inside the Parliament, is the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. So, it is absolutely clear that the Prime Minister has no intention of raising the issue of Manipur inside the Parliament, now what could that reason be?… The Prime Minister thinks that he is above the Parliament of India, he need not come for three days, and he need not come inside Parliament and make a suo moto statement. The Prime Minister can change Chief Ministers in election-going states… he changed the Chief Minister in Gujarat, and he replaced the Chief Ministers of Uttarakhand and Tripura because of electoral and political concerns…. but for some reasons, he is continuing to back the decisions of the Chief Ministers of Manipur..”
Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022 passed in Lok Sabha
Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned with little headway made on the legislative front although the Lok Sabha passed the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022 passed today. Home Minister Shah, who also holds the Cooperation portfolio, told Lok Sabha the Bill will increase transparency, accountability and profit in multi-state cooperative societies and that in this bill, a provision has been made for the Election Authority to implement electoral reforms to conduct fair elections, and the Authority will be as powerful as the Election Commission and there will be no government interference in it. In addition, if one-third of vacancies are created in the Board, a provision has been made to hold elections again for the vacant posts. Along with this, there are also provisions for discipline in board meetings and the smooth functioning of cooperative societies. The chairman, vice-chairman and members of the committees will be required to call board meetings in 3 months. He said that in order to bring transparency in the governance of the cooperative society, a provision has been made to give the majority to the equity shareholders.
Shah said that reservation to one Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe and one woman in the committees has been provided in this Bill which will increase the representation of these sections in the committees. He said that non-compliance with various constitutional requirements can lead to disqualification of the board members. He further informed the House that in the recruitment process of employees, no one will be given a job in blood relation or distant relation. He said that the Right to Information has also been included in this bill.
The Bill also provides for redemption of government shares with the prior approval of the government, liquidation after providing an opportunity of being heard to the multi-state co-operative society, and enforcement of the Banking Regulation(BR) Act, 1949 on co-operative banks.
– global bihari bureau
