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Government keen on rushing through proxy voting bill in LS

The government intends to introduce the Election Laws (amendment) Bill 1998, providing proxy voting facilities to nearly 1.8 million members of the armed forces and paramilitary forces, and get it passed in the Lok Sabha tomorrow.

Defence Minister George Fernandes and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madanlal Khurana met Speaker G M C Balayogi this morning in this connection, and requested him to waive the rules to facilitate the bill's introduction and passage tomorrow itself.

Briefing newspersons, Khurana said since it is an important bill, the government wants to get it passed by the Rajya Sabha also on the last day of the winter session (December 23).

Similarly, BJP members belonging to the Upper House had ''unanimously'' decided to get the Patents Bill passed tomorrow so that it could be approved by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the last day of the current session.

The Speaker has been informed accordingly, and the bill is included in this week's agenda, he explained.

Khurana has ''requested'' the leaders of the Opposition in both the houses -- Dr Manmohan Singh and Sharad Pawar -- for its passage, as it has far-reaching consequences.

In view of the reduction of campaign period from 20 days to 14 days, members of the armed forces find it difficult to make full use of the postal ballot facility. Therefore, the government has decided that in addition to their right to vote in person or through postal ballot, they ''should also be given the right to proxy voting", it was stated.

After enactment of the bill, the rules shall be made to lay down the modalities of system of proxy voting.

Another bill the government intends to introduce in the Lok Sabha tomorrow relates to reorganisation of three states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to carve out Vanachal, Uttaranchal/Uttarakhand and Chhatisgarh.

Home minister L K Advani will also lay on the table of the House, along with these bills, resolutions adopted by the Bihar and Uttar Pradesh assemblies recommending the creation of Vananchal and Uttaranchal/Uttarakhand.

Khurana said George Fernandes's report on the issue of Udham Singh Nagar's inclusion or otherwise in Uttaranchal will be discussed at the time of passage of the bill. As per rules, the bill has to go before the standing committee of the House. The Lok Sabha had introduced the system of standing committee about six years ago, and since then all the bills introduced in the House are referred to the committee, he added.

UNI

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