Monsoon Session of Parliament session extended to September 5

Mangalore Today/NDTV

New Delhi, Aug 22: The government today said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh "may intervene" on missing coal allocation files, in a major concession to the Opposition at a time it is desperate to pass its ambitious Food Security Bill.

The monsoon session will also be extended by one more week till September 5, to enable the passing of key Bills that have been stalled - mainly the Food Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill.

The developments followed a compromise formula worked out between the government and the Opposition, after which the ruling Congress relented on the Opposition’s demands for a statement by the PM on missing files related to the allocation of coal blocks to private companies at throwaway prices.

 

"The government is ready for a discussion, and the PM, if required, may intervene," said Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla in the Rajya Sabha, in the presence of a silent Prime Minister.

"We are not satisfied with the statement of the Coal Minister, the PM is in the House, we want him to reply," Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley had said.

The opposition alleges some of the files were from the time the PM was in charge of the coal ministry and some allocations were made to companies linked to Congress leaders.

The government had so far resisted the Opposition’s demands. "The PM is not a custodian of files. He does not sit in store rooms, does not need to reply. The Coal minister will reply," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath had said outside the House. He added, "If the BJP wants to disrupt, there are many excuses. The weather could also be one."

Despite cross-party support, the Food Bill will lapse if it does not get Parliament’s approval in this session, which will be a huge embarrassment for the ruling Congress.

The landmark pro-poor scheme, which aims at providing highly-subsidised food to nearly 70 per cent of India’s population at a cost of some Rs. 1.25 lakh crores, is being seen as the Congress’s main lifeline as it seeks a third straight victory in national elections, due by May.