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Informist, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024

NEW DELHI - The Winter Session of Parliament starting Monday is set to be stormy as it comes in the immediate backdrop of businessman Gautam Adani making global headlines on being charged by US prosecutors for his role in an alleged scheme to pay $250 million in kickbacks to Indian officials to win solar power contracts. The announcement of the Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly poll results and the outcome of nine assembly by-elections in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday will also have a bearing on the initial functioning of the month-long session.

The Congress on Thursday claimed that Adani’s indictment vindicates its consistent demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into various "scams" involving his conglomerate. Linking Securities and Exchange Board of India chief Madhabi Puri Buch with the group, the Opposition also claimed that Adani’s indictment "calls into question" the integrity of Indian watchdogs under which “unethical practices are flourishing". The opposition parties have called for "a new and credible" SEBI head to be appointed to complete the securities law investigations into what they allege is the "Adani mega scam".

"A comprehensive JPC, which not only investigates every aspect of the working of the Adani Group, the deliberate institutional erosion of the SEBI, SECI (Solar Energy Corp. of India), and government bodies, and the deals of Adani Group in foreign countries is the need of the hour,” said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

Interestingly, the report by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, which had accused the Adani group of extensive accounting fraud, stock price manipulation, and use of tax havens, had also surfaced just ahead of a previous Parliament session.

Meanwhile, the government has listed 15 bills, including the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, for the Winter Session. The joint committee of the two Houses of Parliament dealing with the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is mandated to submit its report by the last day of the first week of the session. The bill allows and mandates the inclusion of non-Muslim members in state waqf boards and the Central Waqf Council, and creates room for these bodies to majorly comprise non-Muslim members. Similar institutions governing Hindu and Sikh endowments primarily comprise members from the respective religious communities.

As part of its financial business, the government will table the first batch of supplementary demands for grants and also introduce a bill seeking amendments to the Insurance Act. It is expected that the amendment bill could include provisions such as composite licences, differential capital requirements, a reduction in solvency norms, issuance of captive licences, changes in investment regulations, one-time registration for intermediaries, and permission for insurers to distribute other financial products.

The government may also move to pass the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Aug. 9. The bill seeks to amend the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, the State Bank of India Act, 1955, the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980.

Besides, the government may move to pass the Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2024. This bill was also introduced in the Lok Sabha on Aug. 9. It seeks to incorporate provisions regarding the Railway Board into the Railways Act, 1989. The 1989 Act provides the legal framework for railways in the country. The statement of objects and reasons of the Bill notes that it will eliminate the need to refer to two laws.

Other pending legislation listed by the government for introduction, consideration, and passing are the Punjab Courts (Amendment) Bill, the Merchant Shipping Bill, the Coastal Shipping Bill, and the Indian Ports Bill. As many as eight bills, including the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, are pending in the Lok Sabha. Two others are with the Rajya Sabha.

Parliament will not have a sitting Tuesday as the government has scheduled to hold a joint sitting of both Houses in the Central Hall of the old Parliament building to mark the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution.  End

Reported by Shahid K. Abbas

Edited by Rajeev Pai

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