Live: Cabinet to only take up Food security ordinance on Friday

6.45 pm: Food ordinance not taken up in cabinet meeting

The cabinet meeting has ended and the food ordinance has not been taken up for discussion, reported CNBC TV 18. The ordinance will reportedly be tabled on Friday.

5.03 pm: KV Thomas at PM’s residence for cabinet meeting

Food Minister KV Thomas is at the Prime Minister’s residence at 7 RCR for a cabinet meeting, where the food security ordinance may be tabled.

The ordinance which was approved by the Law Minister on Tuesday, was also sent to the cabinet secretary. However news channels quoting sources said that the bill had not been tabled yet, and may be only tabled on Friday.

3.23 pm: Congress is afraid of debate, says BJP

Amid speculation that the government had prepared a draft ordinance on the food security bill, BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government had itself delayed the passing of the bill and wanted to avoid a discussion.

“The government could have got the bill passed when it was pushing FDI (foreign direct investment) in retail. For the past nine years, the government has been working for corruption security. Now when the elections have come near, it has remembered the food security bill,” Naqvi told IANS.

“They must hold the monsoon session early to pass the bill,” he said.

The move to bring an ordinance on the issue would mean that the government wants to avoid the debate and go for early polls.

“We want a healthy discussion; why is the government running away from discussion? There is no consensus in the UPA on the bill,” Naqvi said.

His comments come a day after BJP president Rajnath Singh expressed concern over the United Progressive Alliance’s (UPA) plan to issue ordinances to enact legislation.

He said the monsoon session of parliament should be advanced in order to debate and pass the food security and land acquisition bills with some amendments.

1.56 pm: Law Ministry approves ordinance

The Law Ministry has signed an ordinance on the food security bill and has sent a note to the cabinet secretary, notifying it of its decision.

This means that there will be no special session of Parliament to debate the bill, a development that is sure to anger the BJP led opposition who have been asking that the provisions of the bill be debated.

However with fears that the BJP will also disrupt the special session, and statements by the Samajwadi Party that they will ‘register their protest’ against the bill when it is brought up for discussion, the Congress, which is reportedly under pressure from President Sonia Gandhi to get the bill passed as soon as possible, was reportedly not in the mood to take chances.

The ordinance will have the same provisions as the bill, and will need to be approvedwithin six weeks of Parliament’s return.

1.03 pm: How and when food bill gets passed is a political call, says KV Thomas

Food Minister KV Thomas has said that the mechanisms to ensure the efficient implementation of the food security Bill are all in place, and said whether the bill would be passed via an ordinance or through a special session of Parliament, was a ‘political call’.

Speaking to CNBC TV18, Thomas said that he would go along with whatever political decision was taken on the Bill.

“Food grain production is at record high. The PDS system has improved and Aadhaar is in place. I am confident that there will be no problem in implementation”, he said.

Thomas said that identification mechanisms would also not be problem for beneficiary.

10.29 am: UPA likely to pass ordinance on food security bill

There has been some discussion on whether or not the government will introduce a special session in Parliament to pass the food security bill, and now it looks as though it won’t go that route at all.

The Union Cabinet is expected to clear an ordinance for the bill today, setting up another massive showdown with the BJP, which is opposed to pushing through the landmark legislation without discussion in Parliament, said NDTV.

However with fears that the BJP will also disrupt the special session, and statements by the Samajwadi Party that they will ‘register their protest’ against the bill when it is brought up for discussion, the Congress, which is reportedly under pressure from President Sonia Gandhi to get the bill passed as soon as possible, is not in the mood to take chances.

The ordinance will have the same provisions as the bill, and will need to be approvedwithin six weeks of Parliament’s return.

9.35 pm: No decision taken on bill in UPA meet

Kamal Nath after UPA’s coordination committee meet said that the Food Security Bill was not discussed.

He said that the UPA discussed the attack in Chhattisgarh. “We cannot minimise what has happened in Chhattisgarh. It is an attack on the foundation of our democracy.”

He also said an all-party meet will be held to discuss how to deal with Naxalism, which is a threat to our country.

4.16 pm: Ordinance or special session? Government undecided

With the all important UPA meeting on the food security bill up for debate later this evening, the government is reportedly still divided on whether to call for a special session of Parliament, or introduce the bill through an ordinance.

Food Minister KV Thomas, Law Minister Kapil Sibal and Finance Minister P Chidambaram are against ordinance, and favour a Parliament session, CNN-IBN reported.

However Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath (who can blame him, really) and many others within Congress want an ordinance.

The channel added that Congress President Sonia Gandhi is putting pressure on the party to get the Bill passed as soon as possible.

2. 53 pm: How can anyone oppose a bill that will benefit millions?

Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari questioned how one could oppose the food bill that seeks to benefit millions of poor people.

“Don’t understand how one can oppose a bill that will benefit millions of people,” Tewari said.

2. 19 pm: UPA coordination committee meeting postponed to Tuesday?

Sources have told ANI that the UPA coordination committee meeting scheduled to he held today has been postponed to Tuesday. The meeting was to discuss how to move ahead with regards to the Food Security Bill, the key legislation of the UPA.

At a Congress core group meeting on Saturday, the high command of the Congress had decided to call a UPA meeting to arrive at a consensus.

1.29 pm:Food Security Bill should never be brought before the legislature, says MM Joshi

Now it looks as though BJP leader Yashwant Sinha is getting some support from Murli Manohar Joshi with regards to his views on the ‘disastrous’ food security bill.

“This Food Security Bill should never be brought before the legislature.There are far more important issues to discuss”, Joshi was quoted as saying by ANI.

He had added that the Food Security Bill was in reality a Kisaan insecurity bill.

11.31 am: Yashwant Sinha says food security bill is a disaster

BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley may have said that they will support the food security bill, but Yashwant Sinha has a different opinion.

Sinha who was the former finance minister, has termed the bill ‘a disaster’.

“Hope the BJP doesn’t agree To special Session of Parliament for the food bill.Bringing Food Security Law via ordinance is a bad idea”, he said in comments to CNBC.

He also said that the BJP should oppose Food Bill as it transfers burden to states. “Thefood bill is an assault on the federal system of India. It will lead to black marketing and badly affect farmers. Only traders will make merrt by round tripping grain supply”, he added.

This is in keeping with the views of many economic commentators including that of Firstpost editor R Jagannathan who said ,

“The Right to Food is not any more important than the Right to Choice. To force an economically unsustainable Food Security Bill, which is going to cost Rs 6,00,000 crore over three years, down the throats of two-thirds of the population is not a sign of great humanity. It is the exact opposite. It will eat away through inflation and whatever is gained in terms of cheap food delivered through a leaky system that swallows up half the grains meant for the poor.”

11. 14 am: Samajwadi Party to oppose bill

And though the BJP may have said it is on board with the food security bill, the SP has said that it will not support the legislation. However it has said that they are not ‘averse’ to a special session Parliament. But in ominous signs for its productivity, SP leaderNaresh Agarwaal said that the would “register their protest” in it.

Given that ‘protest’ in Parliament could mean anything from a civilised debate (rare) to sloganeering (preferred mode of operation), will the Congress be better off passing an ordinance if they want the bill passed? This is likely to be among the topics of discussion at the UPA meeting at 5.30 pm.

10.53 am: BJP will support food security bill, says Sushma

Amid the government’s move for a special session of Parliament to pass the Food Security Bill, the BJP on Sunday said it is not opposed to it even though it preferred the advancement of the monsoon session.

“There are media reports that government is considering the option of an Ordinance or to convene a special session of Parliament. The ordinance route for such an important legislation is not desirable. We are not opposed to a special session of Parliament,” Opposition leader in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj tweeted.

However, she said, “the better option will be to prepone the Monsoon session which is anyway due in July”.

BJP’s support came on the eve of UPA coordination committee meeting slated for tomorrow to discuss the Food Bill issue. Government is also planning to convene an all-party meeting on the issue.

BJP’s coming on board over the Bill is crucial for the government which could not pass it in the Budget session because of disruptions by Opposition.

(PTI)

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09.45 am: Key UPA meet today, special session of Parliament on the cards?

Keen to push through the food security bill, Congress has initiated fresh moves to forge a consensus with allies and the Opposition over the measure.

A meeting of the Congress top brass on Saturday decided to hold a meeting of UPA coordination committee on Monday, while an all-party meet is likely on 7 June for evolving a consensus on the key bill, which is being touted as a revolutionary measure by the ruling party ahead of the next Lok Sabha polls. Sources in both the party and the government said that a special session may happen if other parties agree to it.

At a meeting of the Congress Core Group chaired by party President Sonia Gandhi, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by her side, that lasted for more than three hours, it was decided that the UPA will finalise its strategy on the ambitious food security bill today.

If all parties agree, a special session can be called, otherwise the government may take the route of ordinance to implement the food security measure. The UPA coordination meeting will provide an opportunity to the Congress top brass to understand the mind of the allies on the Food Security bill and the Land Acquisition Bill which are being seen as a gamechanger by the Congress as it braces for the next Lok Sabha elections.

In the Core Group meeting on Saturday, it was decided that Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath will speak to other political parties and if they agree, a special session may be convened to take up the bill, sources said. Otherwise the government may decide to bring out an ordinance on the food bill, a key commitment of the UPA.

(PTI)