IRA Bill: Cong throws spanner

NEW DELHI, Dec 14 (PTI) — The Congress tonight threw a spanner in the government’s plans to pass the controversial Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) Bill during the current session of Parliament by demanding that the measure be referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance.

Leader of the Opposition, Mr Sharad Pawar, told reporters after a two-and-a-half-hour meeting of senior party leaders on the issue that "specific provisions of the bill not only suffered from certain deficiency, but their operation also requires indepth study because of its possible ramifications".

He said it was therefore "appropriate" that the bill be referred to the Standing Committee on Finance for consideration and proper scrutiny.

The development comes close on the heels of the BJP witnessing differences in its parliamentary party on the issue and the ruling party reaching a "consensus’’ on the measure after much deliberations.

The IRA Bill which was circulated to Members last week is likely to be introduced in the Lok Sabha tomorrow.

Mr Pawar, however, made it clear that the party was committed to reforms in the insurance sector as part of the overall economic reforms.

Asked to elaborate on the "deficiencies’’, party spokesman Ajit Jogi said the regulatory authority which the Bill sought to create did not have autonomy and the body could be superseded and dissolved under certain provisions. "There are many other similar provisions", he said.

He parried a question on the party stand on the key issue of foreign equity ceiling in the insurance sector.

Mr Pawar replied in the negative when asked whether the party was opposing the introduction of the Bill in Parliament. "The Bill has to be introduced and then referred to the standing committee".

The high-level meeting chaired by Party President Sonia Gandhi saw party leaders airing divergent views on the measure with a section maintaining that foreign equity should not be more than 26 per cent.