The prospects of the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill clearing the Rajya Sabha seem to have brightened, with Congress sources indicating that differences between the ruling BJP and the principal opposition party have narrowed down.
Congress representatives at the Rajya Sabha select committee meeting Tuesday seemed to be going along with the provisions of the Bill. However, they insisted on the incorporation of their suggestion to keep the foreign direct investment and foreign institutional investors separately defined.
Among representatives of other parties attending the meeting, Derek O’Brien of Trinamool Congress staged a walkout, while P Rajeev of the CPM and K C Tyagi of the JD(U) objected to some key clauses of the Bill.
The 15-member committee, headed by senior BJP member Chandan Mitra, is required to submit a final report by December 12. The panel is scheduled to meet again Wednesday.
Congress sources said an agreement (with the BJP) was likely given the likelihood of the acceptance of its suggestion to keep FDI and FII separately defined so that the foreign money which came in did not breach the sectoral cap of 49 per cent.
On Tuesday, the committee undertook a clause-by-clause examination of the bill and official amendments. As many as 49 of the 111 clauses were discussed. O’Brien walked out after complaining that the list did not contain all the amendments suggested by the 20-odd witnesses. Mitra overruled his his objection. Later, while speaking to The Indian Express, O’Brien said he would table the amendment that was missed out when the committee meets next. “Then, today’s meeting will become infructuous,” he said.
Regarding Congress’s reported willingness to explore middle ground on the Bill, O’Brien said: “The BJP took a U-turn and the Congress decided to ride pillion”.
CPM’s P Rajeev primarily objected to clause III of the bill, which seeks to enhance the FDI cap from 26 per cent to 49 per cent, and official amendment number 8, which deals with foreign institutional investors.
Tyagi reminded the committee of the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Finance, headed by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, in December 2011. The panel had rejected the government’s proposal to hike the FDI cap, saying this could expose the economy to global vulnerability.
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