LS passes three Bills, Parliament disrupted again

The UPA government managed to push three Bills through the Lok Sabha on Monday even though both Houses of Parliament were largely disrupted, with efforts by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to break the deadlock over the coal block allotment controversy not succeeding.

The Bills, adopted with the tacit understanding of the opposition BJP, were the Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Amendment Bill and the National Highways Authority of India (Amendment) Bill.

However, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Amendment) Bill was blocked in the Rajya Sabha as the Left parties insisted on a debate. The Bill, passed by the Lok Sabha earlier, will allow the six new AIIMS-like institutions to start their courses this month.

The Lok Sabha proceedings began with BJP members rushing into the well to demand the Prime Minister's resignation immediately after the House paid tributes to former union minister Kanshiram Rana who died last week.

The Rajya Sabha was disrupted by DMK and AIADMK members protesting against Sri Lankan army personnel being trained in India.

Both Houses were first adjourned until 12 noon. The Lok Sabha met again for over half-an-hour to pass the three Bills. The Rajya Sabha met for a short while and was adjourned for the day.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters later that contentious Bills would not be passed without the two Houses being in order, implying that Bills related to fiscal reform are not expected to make much progress.

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