The Week in Parliament
CPI(M) Parliamentary Office
THE winter session of parliament witnessed a weeklong standoff between the opposition and the treasury benches over issues such as the indictment of the Adanis in the US in an alleged bribery case, the violence in Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh and Manipur, and the Centre’s denial of relief fund to those affected by landslides in Wayanad in Kerala. The standoff, which led to House proceedings being stalled, came to an end after the Opposition parties and the central government reached a consensus to take up a discussion on the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution. Subsequently, parliament took up discussions on various bills.
Speaking on the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha, V Sivadasan said the proposed legislation is not in the interests of the people of the country. It is for the corporate houses. Energy is very important for the development of a nation. Affordable energy is very crucial and essential for the welfare of the state. A democratically-elected government should ensure the welfare of the common people. But, here the government is walking in a very different direction. The government is promoting privatisation of our great natural resources, including petroleum and natural gas. The aim of big multinational companies is only to earn profit through production or distribution of PNG. The actual price and market price of petroleum products prove the correctness of this statement. The government should not allow the exploitation of common people. The government should control the price of petroleum products and it should restore and increase the subsidies. The price of petroleum products in our country is very high compared to global prices. The central government is imposing heavy taxes on petroleum products. In June 2008, the crude oil price touched $202 per barrel. At that time, the petrol price in India was Rs 50 and diesel price Rs 37. At that time, the present ruling party was in the Opposition and it raised this matter in front of the people. Now, the price of crude oil is only $68 per barrel, which is less than 30% of the price in 2008. Even then, petrol is costing more than Rs 100 in India today. Why is this happening? It is happening because of excessive taxes and surcharges levied by the central government. It collects a huge amount as tax. In 2019-20, it was Rs 3.3 lakh crore; in 2020-21, it was Rs 4.55 lakh crore, and, in 2021-22, it was Rs 4.92 lakh crore. Now, the collected amount is above Rs 6 lakh crore. It should not be allowed. The LPG refill cost was Rs 410 for a 14.2-kg cylinder on March 1, 2014. It has now become Rs 823. The government should protect the interests of the common people. They should stand for the people and not for the corporate houses.
The Lok Sabha took up the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to amend the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the State Bank of India Act, 1955, and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 and 1980. Speaking on the Bill, R Sachithanantham proposed some amendments. The Bill seeks to increase the substantial interest from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 2 crore. It is on the higher side. Taking price rise and other things into consideration, it can at best be increased to Rs 50 lakh, he said. It seeks to amend the tenure of directors in cooperative banks from eight years to ten years. In our opinion, the increase in tenure will lead to vested interests. So, instead the tenure could be reduced to five years. It seeks to amend the reporting dates. That is fine. The reporting dates can be amended. It seeks to amend the nomination rules. For a locker, instead of a single nominee or a joint nominee, it provides for four nominees, one after another. It is a welcome move. There is another amendment with regard to transfer of dividends, shares, and interest or redemption of bonds to the Investor Education and Protection Fund. We have to ensure that the claims after transfer are made hassle free. Then it can be allowed. The amount that is transferred must also be properly utilised to not only educate the banking clients but also to prevent the cybercrimes which are increasing very alarmingly nowadays. It is again seeking to amend the provisions to provide discretion to public sector banks in the matter of remuneration of auditors. Again, this will create vested interest to the top management of the public sector banks. This aspect need not be amended. It should be continued as it is in the present system. Thousands of employees in the public sector banks fear job insecurity due to privatisation. This bill does little to address their concerns. Why is the government not prioritising employment stability, especially in the time of rising unemployment? This bill is yet another example of the government prioritising privatisation under corporate interests over the welfare of the common people.
Speaking on the Railways (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha, Amraram said the development of the railways is most important. The development that should have happened in freight and passenger travel has not happened till date. Even today 80 per cent of freight is carried through roads. Looking at the current situation of passenger traffic, I think that the way every village in this country has been connected with roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, if every tehsil headquarters is connected with the railways, then today 80 per cent of the freight can be carried through rail, leading to development of the country. We are investing so much in highways, if we invest that much in railways, the country will develop. The amount of oil that is being imported today, I think it could have been reduced by 70 per cent if the railway network is expanded. I think the government of the country can see animal cruelty, but not human cruelty. How do people travel standing and hanging in toilets of ordinary coaches during festivals such as Chhath and Diwali. I think even after 75 years of independence, nothing can be more regrettable than this. Even today, in a train of 20 coaches, there are only two general coaches in the front and one at the back. The common people, who account for 80 per cent of the population, travel in them because they are not in a position to travel in AC coaches. I understand that electrification is being done. Shekhawati is an area from where most of the soldiers have come. People from this place will be found in every army and every paramilitary force of this country. Every businessman is from this region, but the work of broad gauge has been done here last. The relaxations that were given during the Covid-19 pandemic, like 30 per cent relaxation was given to the people of Delhi, have been stopped. Why is the government not implementing them again? It definitely needs to be restored. I would like to request the minister that the Shekhawati Sainik Express, which comes from Jaipur to Delhi, should definitely go to Haridwar. The train that comes from Assam, comes to Delhi, if it is taken to Ajmer via Jhunjhunu, Sikar, then the Shekhawati people will benefit.
Speaking on the Boilers Bill, 2024, in the Rajya Sabha, John Brittas said that since this Bill does not have any substance, there is no need for the presence of the minister. This Bill is nothing but smoke. He is adding to the smog, which we are already suffering in Delhi from. Many of the clauses of the Bill are more or less repetition. And, whatever tampering he has done with the Bill is to usurp the powers of the states. I will come specifically to Clause 23, sub-Clause 4. It mandates that the states must follow the central government’s directions for investigating boiler accidents. Law and order is a state subject under our Constitution, so also a crime, naturally. But this clause blows the right past the federal principles. How can you supersede the state government? This is part and parcel of the law and order which is supposed to be the prerogative of the state government. Clause 25 hands the central government the authority to hear second appeals on revisions against decisions made by the state chief inspector. Why should a boiler operating within a state have to appeal to Delhi for a resolution? Are the states not capable of handling such a small issue? Or, this is yet another attempt to centralise everything! Even the meager powers of the state are being usurped through the so-called Bill. Is this a modern law or a colonial relic resurrected with some copy-paste errors?
Speaking on the Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak in the Rajya Sabha, A A Rahim said he would like to talk about the title of this bill. This is the reflection of their political, narrow political motto, which is ‘one nation, one language, and one culture.’ So, don't undermine India's rich linguistic and cultural diversity. That is my request. So, I urge the minister to rename this Bill as the Indian Aircraft Act. I would like to ask who is the custodian of the Indian aviation sector. Is it the minister or the ministry? The union government has no control over the Indian aviation sector. The Indian aviation sector is controlled by a three-person army, namely, Tata, Indigo and Adani. This army controls the entire aviation sector of India. Almost all the major airports are in Adani’s hands, while the skies are dominated by Tata and Indigo. While introducing this Bill, the minister proudly claimed that under the Narendra Modi government, the numbers of airports and domestic air passengers have doubled but the minister conveniently forgot about the uncontrolled airfare hike. Does the minister have any control over it? The private companies are dictating the ticket prices. The department-related parliamentary standing committee, of which I was a part, recommended controlling airfares and making air transport accessible to the common people. This was a long-standing demand of the entire country. As a young minister, do you have the courage to regulate the price mechanism? You cannot do that because deregulation is the fundamental mantra of neoliberal policy. You are making policies for the three-man army. The minister showcases the number of new aircraft purchased by Indigo and Tata as the government’s achievement! How can it be considered as the government’s achievement? If two companies decide to purchase new aircraft, why is the government bringing this matter to the House? It should be discussed in their own corporate boardrooms. If the minister is dreaming about making India the largest domestic aviation market in the world, what is the government doing for the common people! The government has failed to control sky-rocketing airfares and they have no control over it. NRIs face unbearable challenges. They cannot come home even if they get leave because airfares are exorbitant. Think about the plight of domestic passengers also. On festivals like Diwali, Onam and Pongal, they are forced to take loans just to book tickets.
or reload the browser
