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Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee wanted to settle the deadlock with the opposition on the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance through a joint session of Parliament, rather than a confrontation by going to the people to seek their approval, a Cabinet minister said on Monday.
The minister, who did not wish to be identified, asserted that Vajpayee had turned down a proposal by Bharatiya Janata Party members that the government should not be bothered if POTO was defeated by the opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
"Vajpayee has told his party colleagues that a joint session of Parliament is the constitutional way to decide the issue," the minister contended.
He said the prime minister had emphasised that even after effecting three amendments recently, the government was willing to accommodate a few more "logical ones". But these should not deprive the anti-terrorism ordinance "of its teeth".
He pointed out that Vajpayee did not want the ongoing tussle between the government and the opposition to degenerate into a free for all. However, the prime minister also maintained that the government should not shirk away from its responsibilities, the minister said.
Given the fact that the battle lines are clearly etched between the ruling National Democratic Alliance and the opposition on POTO, it is a foregone conclusion that the government will be able to convert the ordinance into a law if the joint session of Parliament is held.
The NDA, including the Telegu Desam Party, has 309 seats in the Lok Sabha. Besides, Jayalalithaa's All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has also pledged support on POTO. If the AIADMK's 11 Lok Sabha seats are added to the NDA's tally in the House, the figure swells up to 320. For POTO to be passed in the House, which has 542 members, the NDA needs a minimum of 272 seats.
Sharad Pawar, leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, told the prime minister during the all-party meeting summoned by Vajpayee recently that his party was willing to support the ordinance if some amendments were made. The NCP has 8 seats in the Lok Sabha.
In contrast, the opposition has 210 seats in the Lok Sabha.
However, in the Rajya Sabha, the opposition parties have the upper hand with the Congress having the most seats (57), followed by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (14). No other opposition party's tally runs into double digits.
In the Rajya Sabha, the combined strength of the opposition is 137, which is higher than the NDA's .
Even if the opposition strength is taken together in both houses of Parliament, it will be far less than the combined strength of the NDA, which can go up to 433 -- sufficient to convert the ordinance into a law.
ALSO SEE The Complete Coverage: The Anti-terror Ordinance
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