In Parliament today: Robert Vadra, Food Bill, RTI amendments

Two key legislations - the Food Security Bill and the amendment to the Right to Information (RTI) Act - are likely to be discussed on Tuesday, if Parliament functions. While Monday saw some engaging debate over the Kishtwar violence in Jammu & Kashmir in the Rajya Sabhaa, Tuesday may just be back to disruptions according to this report in The Indian Express.  According to the report, the BJP is all set to target Congress President Sonia Gandhi in both Houses of Parliament over the alleged Robert Vadra land scam. While Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj was supposed to bring up the issue on Monday itself, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath managed to defer the issue at a meeting of floor leaders called by Speaker Meira Kumar. “Tomorrow we will raise the son-in-law scam. It is an issue of flasification, issue of wrong declaration in financial issues concerning banks,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said on Monday. If allowed permission by the Speaker, the Robert Vadra-DLF land deal issue is likely to further delay the UPA government’s ambitious Food Security Bill, which is already caught in a political tangle. On Monday, BJP campaign committee chief and Gujarat CM Narendra Modi wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking that a meeting of all Chief Ministers be held before passing the food bill, as the issue concerns both the Centre as well as state governments. In his letter, Modi alleged that poor families have been made ‘food insecure’ through the Ordinance which ‘does not fulfill the basic objectives of food security’. The government also faces opposition from crucial parties - Samajwadi Party and the DMK. “If the bill comes with all the important amendments as sought by various political parties, then DMK will support it. If the Centre is firm on bringing it in the present form, without making any amendments, then DMK will oppose it..,” DMK Chief M Karunanidhi had said in a statement. Even the Samajwadi Party, which supports the government from the outside, has said it will support the legislation only if the government makes amendments in the bill. “We have made certain suggestions like farmers should get 100 percent guaranteed price for their crop. We also want the definition of BPL to be changed so that more poor people are included. Free grains should be provided to the poorest,” SP leader Naresh Aggarwal had told reporters outside Parliament House. However, there is unity among all political parties over the amendment to the RTI Act. On Monday, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) V Narayanasamy introduced the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2005, seeking to negate a Central Information Commission (CIC) order that was passed earlier in June this year. According to the amendment, which the government says has come into effect from 3 June (retrospective effect), any authority or body or institution of self government established or constituted by any law made by Parliament, shall not include any association or body of individuals registered or recognised as a political party under the Representation of People Act 1951. The amended version of the Bill further goes on to say in Section 32 that: “Notwithstanding anything contained in any judgment, decree or order of any court or commission, the provisions of this Act as amended by the Right to Information (Amendement) Act, 2013, shall have effect, and shall be deemed always to have effect, in the case of any association or body of individuals registered or recognised as a political party under the Representation of People Act, 1951, or any other law for the time being in force, and the rules made, or notifications issued thereunder.” “Declaring a political party as public authority under the RTI Act would hamper its smooth internal working…further, the political rivals may misuse the provisions of RTI Act, thereby adversely affecting the functioning of the political parties,” the Bill further reads. In effect, these amendments exempt all registered political parties from coming under the RTI Act. RTI activists, however, are fuming at the government’s decision and are likely to move court once the amendments are passed. “It is an attempt to hamper the citizens’ right to know. The government is trying to block transparency in the system from the proposed amendments,” RTI activist Vivek Garg told PTI. While Parliament is likely to pass the RTI amendments without much debate, what remains a bone of contention is the Food Security Bill, where Nath’s skill on managing political numbers will come into play.