'Accord' reached on passing budgets

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI, APRIL 19. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Mr. G.M. Balayogi, today took the initiative to bring some order to the chaos that has been Parliament by convening a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee and getting at least a timetable agreed upon for the passing of the all important financial business before Parliament, including the Finance Bill, instead of bulldozing the Budget through as suggested by the Government.

The ``agreement'' in the BAC was limited to the business agenda for the next few days - the Railway Budget to be passed tomorrow (April 20), discussion on the Rural Development Ministry on April 23, discussion on Disinvestment on April 24 followed by applying the guillotine to the grants pertaining to all other ministries, and the Finance Bill to be discussed and passed on April 25. Thus at least a semblance of decorum has been maintained.

But the possibility of all this happening peacefully and in an orderly fashion seems remote even though all parties across the political spectrum agreed that forcibly passing the Budget through the Lok Sabha amid din and chaos would be a ``black day'' for Parliament and Indian democracy.

The agreement ended there. The Congress blamed the Government for not conceding a joint parliamentary committee into the Tehelka affair, a most reasonable demand, to create the right atmosphere for the proper functioning of Parliament, and the Government continued to take the position that the Congress alone would be responsible for any disorder during the passing of the Budget, and that there was no question of agreeing to a JPC.

Earlier, the Speaker reportedly rejected the Government's suggestion that he himself finalise the business agenda and begin pushing through the urgent financial business from today. Instead, the Speaker made the effort to try and end the persisting deadlock in Parliament by first calling the Leader of the Opposition, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, for a 15-minute meeting around noon.

He then convened a BAC at 5 p.m. He also had a meeting with the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr. Pramod Mahajan. Mrs. Gandhi is believed to have said that her party had been most reasonable in dropping all demands except a JPC, which the Government had itself offered earlier. And it was for the Government to accept it in the interests of democracy and the smooth functioning of Parliament.

However, it seems that the Government continued to be as unyielding on the Opposition demand for a JPC on Tehelka as the Congress was insistent, both saying that the responsibility for the peaceful passing of the Budget lay with the other.

After the BAC drew up the ``time-table'' the Congress representative, Mr. Madhavrao Scindia, reportedly said that he hoped even at this late stage the Government would display ``wisdom'' and create the atmosphere in which the Budget could be discussed meaningfully and passed peacefully.

The Congress view was that the demand for a JPC could by no stretch of imagination be termed as unreasonable.

At the end of the day, Mr. Mahajan appealed to the Congress to ``postpone'' its JPC agitation for ``just four or five days,'' help pass the important financial business, which was also a constitutional obligation, and go back to its agitation if it wants to. In short, he appealed to the Opposition party to ``delink'' the Budget from the Tehelka business.

Even he agreed that it would be a ``black day'' indeed if the Budget were to be pushed through amid chaos. In the past there were instances when the Budget was passed without discussion, but it was always on account of some extraordinary circumstances, never in chaotic conditions.

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