With BJP's help, govt passes LIC Bill in RS
Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Dec 15, 2011, 02.33AM IST
NEW DELHI: With main Opposition BJP turning out to be a 'saviour' for ruling UPA, Parliament on Wednesday approved a Bill for increasing paid-up capital to Rs 100 crore of the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India after the government faced some tense moments in the Rajya Sabha, where Left parties backed by BSP pressed for division of votes over an 'amendment'.
Though the Upper House negated the 'amendment'- moved by the CPM members Moinul Hassan and Tapan Kumar Sen - after voting, it was possible only when BJP, the second largest party in the Rajya Sabha, abstained.
Only 28 members, including BSP MPs, voted in favour of the Left-backed 'amendment', while 58 rejected it in the House with an effective strength of 241.
BJP member Prakash Javdekar too had moved 'amendments', but he later did not press for it when MoS for finance Namo Narain Meena clarified the scope of the Bill and said that the government would continue to provide sovereign guarantee to the policies sold by LIC.
The Bill had seen Left-backed division of vote in the Lok Sabha as well on Monday. But, the Lower House too had passed it when the 'amendment' - moved by CPM's Bansagopal Chaudhury - was negated with 17 'ayes' and 107 'nos'. Left members had staged a walk-out after voting in Lok Sabha.
Unlike in the Lok Sabha, Left members in the Rajya Sabha did not walk out after the voting and remained seated for discussion on another legislation - the Architects (Amendment) Bill, 2010 - that was moved for consideration and passing by HRD minister Kapil Sibal.
The LIC (Amendment) Bill seeks to bring LIC at par with private insurance companies by increasing the paid-up capital of the state insurer from the present level of Rs 5 crore to Rs 100 crore. The new legislation provides for sharing of 90% of LIC surplus with the policyholders from the existing 95%.
Almost the entire Opposition, including BJP, Left and BSP, raised question over this provision while taking part in the discussion before passing of the Bill. Javdekar contended that reducing the surplus would impact LIC's competitiveness. The BJP member also questioned LIC's decision to invest in realty firms such as Unitech, D B Realty and Omaxe, which have caused a loss to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore to the corporation.
Responding to members' concern, Meena later said the measure was to align the LIC with 21 private players in the sector. The reserved funds would be used for business expansion and corporate responsibility of LIC, besides having solvency margin for it, he added.
On Javdekar's question over LIC's investment, the minister said, "Some investments are under investigation".
Times View
The passage of this bill is a welcome departure from the logjam in Parliament. We only hope that such instances of bipartisanship were more common and cussedness by ruling or opposition parties in our legislatures more rare. There is a lot our legislators, whether in Parliament or in the states, could learn in this respect from the traditions of legislative bodies in the US. While bitter rivalry between parties is as much a reality of US politics as in India or indeed any healthy democracy, what the American experience shows is that this not need automatically translate into the politics of obstruction. When important legislation is blocked, after all, the country loses much more than any party does.........................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JQkcvMjAxMS8xMi8xNSNBcjAwOTAw&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Dec 15, 2011, 02.33AM IST
NEW DELHI: With main Opposition BJP turning out to be a 'saviour' for ruling UPA, Parliament on Wednesday approved a Bill for increasing paid-up capital to Rs 100 crore of the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India after the government faced some tense moments in the Rajya Sabha, where Left parties backed by BSP pressed for division of votes over an 'amendment'.
Though the Upper House negated the 'amendment'- moved by the CPM members Moinul Hassan and Tapan Kumar Sen - after voting, it was possible only when BJP, the second largest party in the Rajya Sabha, abstained.
Only 28 members, including BSP MPs, voted in favour of the Left-backed 'amendment', while 58 rejected it in the House with an effective strength of 241.
BJP member Prakash Javdekar too had moved 'amendments', but he later did not press for it when MoS for finance Namo Narain Meena clarified the scope of the Bill and said that the government would continue to provide sovereign guarantee to the policies sold by LIC.
The Bill had seen Left-backed division of vote in the Lok Sabha as well on Monday. But, the Lower House too had passed it when the 'amendment' - moved by CPM's Bansagopal Chaudhury - was negated with 17 'ayes' and 107 'nos'. Left members had staged a walk-out after voting in Lok Sabha.
Unlike in the Lok Sabha, Left members in the Rajya Sabha did not walk out after the voting and remained seated for discussion on another legislation - the Architects (Amendment) Bill, 2010 - that was moved for consideration and passing by HRD minister Kapil Sibal.
The LIC (Amendment) Bill seeks to bring LIC at par with private insurance companies by increasing the paid-up capital of the state insurer from the present level of Rs 5 crore to Rs 100 crore. The new legislation provides for sharing of 90% of LIC surplus with the policyholders from the existing 95%.
Almost the entire Opposition, including BJP, Left and BSP, raised question over this provision while taking part in the discussion before passing of the Bill. Javdekar contended that reducing the surplus would impact LIC's competitiveness. The BJP member also questioned LIC's decision to invest in realty firms such as Unitech, D B Realty and Omaxe, which have caused a loss to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore to the corporation.
Responding to members' concern, Meena later said the measure was to align the LIC with 21 private players in the sector. The reserved funds would be used for business expansion and corporate responsibility of LIC, besides having solvency margin for it, he added.
On Javdekar's question over LIC's investment, the minister said, "Some investments are under investigation".
Times View
The passage of this bill is a welcome departure from the logjam in Parliament. We only hope that such instances of bipartisanship were more common and cussedness by ruling or opposition parties in our legislatures more rare. There is a lot our legislators, whether in Parliament or in the states, could learn in this respect from the traditions of legislative bodies in the US. While bitter rivalry between parties is as much a reality of US politics as in India or indeed any healthy democracy, what the American experience shows is that this not need automatically translate into the politics of obstruction. When important legislation is blocked, after all, the country loses much more than any party does.........................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JQkcvMjAxMS8xMi8xNSNBcjAwOTAw&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
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