NEW DELHI:The principal opposition Congress on Monday made blistering attack on the Modi Government for depending on the Ordinance route to bring in new laws in the country and said the ruling dispensation is using the executive powers to bulldoze the legislative powers of the House sometimes even like ‘guns from Ordnance factories’.
The observation was made by Congress floor leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in the Lok Sabha.
“This Government already tops the list in bringing in Ordinances to make new laws,” he said while participating in the discussion on The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Bill in the Lok Sabha.
“This government has brought four Ordinances for every ten Bills,” Mr Chowdhury said.
Mr Chowdury aid – it appeared the government is using the Ordinance route as often a defence contingent uses the ‘guns’ those come out of ‘Ordnance factories’ to silence the opponents.
Mr Chowdhury said the government decision to issue an Ordinance on the subject in March this year just on the eve of elections was politically motivated.
“You issued the Ordinance because you wanted wanted votes…..,” he told Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’.
At one point when Mr Chowdhury tried to compare Ordinance with ‘ordnance factories’ – even Mr Bhartruhari Mahatab, who was on the chair, remarked “I (the alphabet) is missing”.
Mr Chowdhury said the Congress party is not opposed to the content of the Bill per se as it seeks to guarantee reservation to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, but it is definitely against the Ordinance route.
Piloting the Bill earlier, the Union Minister justified the government decision and said the Ordinance route had to be followed as there were developments in the court on the matter and the petitions submitted by the central government and also the UGC have been dismissed by the Supreme Court.
Mr Pokhriyal explained the crux of the issue remains in the debate whether University should be considered a unit to work out and implement reservation policies for the teaching and non teaching staff or it should be based on various departments.
“In making the Department an unit, often there are no scope for reservation and while when a university is made an unit, the percentage of reservation is much higher,” he said.
BJP member Vishnu Dayal Ram from Palamu Jharkhand supported the Bill and asserted that the Modi government and his party were firm about ensuring reservation for the weaker sections of the society.
“I am saying this because the Constitution says so,” he said and maintained that time and again campaign has been launched against BJP that it is against reservation policies.
The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Bill, 2019 was introduced in Lok Sabha on June 27.
It replaces an Ordinance that was promulgated on March 7, 2019.
According to official sources, the Bill provides for reservation of teaching positions in central educational institutions for persons belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and socially and educationally backward classes and also the economically weaker sections.
Among others A Raja (DMK) and Pratima Mondal (Trinamool Congress) participated in the debate.
“The Ordinance was brought on March 7 just three days before the announcement of polls and this cannot be mere coincidence,” said Ms Mondal.
(AGENCIES)
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