Insurance Law to be amended

Lok Sabha passes Bill that allows the government to pare its stake in State-owned insurers amid uproar

New Delhi: Proceedings of Lok Sabha were disrupted for the 10th straight working day on Monday with a relentless opposition raising slogans on the Pegasus spying row and the farmers’ issue and amid the din, the House passed a bill that allows the government to pare its stake in state-owned insurers.

Since the Monsoon session of Parliament commenced on July 19, opposition members have been storming the Well of the House raising slogans mainly on the Pegasus spying row and the farmers’ issue.

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Speaker Om Birla also expressed his anguish at repeated disruptions, saying crores of rupees have been wasted.

He said members should provide directions to the society but instead they were holding placards and raising slogans.

Monday was the tenth straight working day when the proceedings were marred by opposition uproar.

The proceedings of the House were first adjourned till noon, then till 2 PM and again till 3.30 PM as an unrelenting opposition refused to end its protests. The House was later adjourned for the day.

Like in the past few days, the government on Monday went ahead with its legislative business and the House passed the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill amid the din.

Leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sparred on the provisions of the bill before it was cleared by a voice vote.

The bill to amend the general insurance law to allow the government to pare its stake in state-owned insurers was passed without a debate.

The bill is aimed at generating required resources from the Indian markets so that public sector general insurers can design innovative products.

Moving the bill for consideration and passage, Finance Minister Sitharaman said that she wanted to respond to the concerns raised by the opposition members but could not do so as the House was not in order.

Accusing the opposition of disturbing the proceedings of the House and avoiding discussion on the bill, she said if “they are serious, they should sit down, debate and ask questions. Since you are afraid that truth will come out, you don’t want discussion.” She was responding to allegations made by Congress leader Chowdhury who described the amendment bill as “anti-people and anti-national”.

Sitharaman sought to counter the criticism by stating that private sector companies were providing better insurance to people at a lesser premium.

As soon as the House met for the day, Speaker Birla, on behalf of the House, congratulated shuttler P V Sindhu on winning a medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

The Speaker noted that she is the first Indian woman athlete to win two individual medals at Olympics. He congratulated her for the “historic achievement” and also expressed hope that Sindhu’s win will be an inspiration for youngsters.

Some opposition members said the House should also congratulate the hockey team for its performance.

During the protest, Harsimrat Kaur Badal of the SAD held strands of a crop along with placards demanding rollback of the three new agri laws.

Some BSP and SP members, who were standing at their seats, also held strands of crop.

Sunil Mondal, a TMC MP who had joined the BJP ahead of the West Bengal assembly polls, also joined opposition members in their protests over the Pegasus issue.

His move is seen as part of his efforts to get back into the TMC fold following the assembly polls in which the BJP suffered a defeat. The TMC has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, seeking his disqualification as a member of the lower house.

The government also introduced a bill to abolish as many as nine appellate tribunals set up under various Acts.

The Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021, which seeks to replace the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021, was introduced by Sitharaman.

The bill provides for the abolition of tribunals or authorities under various Acts by amending the Cinematograph Act, 1952, the Copyrights, Act, 1957, the Customs Act, 1962, the Patents Act, 1970, the Airport Authority of India Act, 1994, and the Trade Marks Act, 1999.

As the bill could not be passed in the Budget Session of Parliament and there was an immediate need for the legislation, the President promulgated the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance 2021 on April 4, 2021.

Introducing the bill in the lower house on Monday, Sitharaman also withdrew the earlier bill introduced in February 2021.

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