Govt has the right to decide timing of legislation:Congress

The Congress today played down the government's decision not to introduce the Nuclear Liabilities Bill in the Lok Sabha, saying the government has the right to decide the timing of bringing legislation in the house.

"The practice of not introducing a bill is not uncommon... The government has a right to decide the timing of the introduction of a bill and hold consultations," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters here.

The Civil Liabilities for Nuclear Damages Bill, 2010, was listed in the business of the Lok Sabha today, but the government decided not to introduce it following opposition from the left parties and the BJP.

Asked whether the bill was deferred as the government feared it did not have the numbers in the Lok Sabha, Singhvi shot back, "I reject the allegation that it was postponed as it did not have the numbers. We have full support of the Lok Sabha."

A party source, however, maintained that the last-minute opposition of Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to the bill was one of the main reasons for its deferment.

The source maintained that in the cabinet meeting held about a fortnight ago to clear the bill, no such objection had come forth from the TMC leader.

"Mamata's opposition has been a subsequent development," the source said. "The TMC has some reservations." The source said that if the Congress had known of Banerjee's stand earlier, it would not have listed the bill for business today.

The source hoped that the TMC could come on board sooner or later as the left, its arch rival in West Bengal, is opposed to the bill and both cannot be seen to be on the same side of the political divide.

Asked about the stand of the Congress on the bill, Singhvi said the party believes that nuclear civil cooperation is vital for the country. "This is a logical step," he said, referring to the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.

Justifying the bill and ridiculing the left and the BJP for their opposition, the spokesman said around 30 countries of the world carry out nuclear commerce and the "paradigm of the bill was similar to national legislations across the world".

He said the bill was in sync with the Paris and Vienna conventions. "The party did not find any reason why these outfits were opposed to it," he said.

Singhvi, however, did not oppose "constructive inputs" on the bill.

Asked whether the government will go in for an ordinance when the house goes into recess tomorrow, he said, "I am not going to
indulge in speculative hypothesis."