New Delhi:
The UPA government has decided to invoke the emergency powers of the Constitution for promulgating a number of ordinances ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, due by May. These ordinances will cover the anti-graft bills being pushed by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, and some other important pieces of legislation that could not be passed in the concluding session of Parliament.
The move is certain to invite angry reactions from the opposition BJP, as a government which has entered its last lap, conventionally, leaves the fate of such bills to be decided by the next government.
The bills that are likely to ordinance route before being enforced across the country are the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, the Rights of citizens to Timebound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of Grievances Bill, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, the Securities and Exchange Board (Amendment) Bill, the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, and the Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill).
The first two bills form an important part of the plan set in motion by Mr Gandhi to reclaim the anti-corruption plank, which has been appropriated by Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party and Narendra Modi's BJP. The government had failed to rush these bills through in Parliament, and only the legislation protecting whistleblowers could be cleared on the last day of the winter session.
All eyes will be on the Rashtrapati Bhawan to see if would agree to approve these ordinances, but the government is determined to promulgate them to enable the Congress to set the agenda for the looming electoral battle.
The BJP and the AAP have been hitting out at the Congress' governance track-record and its failure to rein in corruption at high places. Last five years of UPA rule have seen several corruption cases bursting in the open, denting the government's image. The ordinances, Congress managers hope, will help them reclaim the probity plank.