Lucknow/Hyderabad: As the Centre comes under attack for resorting to the ordinance route, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan Sunday said it would be better if ordinances were “lesser” in number even as Government asserted it had “no fancy” for promulgating them.
Mahajan expressed her view at the end of the 77th Conference of Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in Lucknow.
“It would be better if they (ordinances) were lesser in number,” she said, but added the expectation of the electorate was very high and some quick decisions had to be made.
The Speaker was answering a question at a news conference about ruling through ordinances.“An ordinance is brought if a bill cannot be passed due to some reasons though it has to be tabled in the House to make it a law,” she said.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the government has “no fancy for issuing ordinances” and that the Opposition should allow the Parliament to function properly.
“Nobody has got a fancy for issuing ordinances. We don't want to issue ordinances. But a violent minority cannot obstruct a silent majority from taking the country's development forward,” Naidu told reporters in Hyderabad.
Noting that it is the right of the opposition parties to oppose the government, he said they can resort to democratic methods, like walkout to register their protest. He alleged that the opposition parties are stalling the Rajya Sabha as they seem to be not in favour of the Modi government earning a good name for its development efforts.
“Our friends from opposition... they want to block development. They don't want Narendra Modi to get name by developing the nation. That seems to be the attitude. Otherwise, there is no meaning. I am not saying opposition should support every move of the government...No. You are the opposition...I propose, you oppose. Let the House dispose. Allow the House to function,” he said.
The Narendra Modi government is under fire for issuing 9 ordinances in quick succession.
President Pranab Mukherjee has also cautioned against the enactment of laws through ordinances. The Budget Session of Parliament is due to start on February 23.
