There are red faces in the government and the leader of the Lok Sabha Pranab Mukherjee is reported to be furious at the mismanagement and lack of co-ordination within the government of its floor managers, casual attitude of ministers and pressure from allies which has put it in a bad light and given the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party a new lease of life to take on the government. It appears to be "withdrawal" time in the government.
"Thank God it's the last day of the session on Friday" said a senior minister who had spent the last few hours putting the situation back on the rails but to no avail.
The lack of management visible in the government is a far cry from the last five years when Parliamentary business worked without any glitches and whatever disruptions were there, were from the BJP's side.
But on Thursday, the government had to once again face embarrassment in the Lok Sabha when the two ministers of commerce Anand Sharma and Jyotiraditya Scindia were missing from the house and the government had listed the Rubber (Amendment) Bill 2009.
Cabinet Minister Anand Sharma left for South Korea on Wednesday night to sign the CEPA treaty in Seoul, while his deputy Jyotiraditya is in Jakarta.
The bill was listed in the list of business on Wednesday night, without the matter being brought to the leader of the house Pranab Mukherjee's notice that both the ministers are missing.
Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan got up to move the bill, but the opposition did not allow it in the absence of the ministers of the concerned ministry. They forced an adjournment for an hour and the government had to beat a retreat, agreeing to bring it in the winter session of Parliament in November.
And in what is being seen as a victory for Trinamool Congress chief Mamta Banerjee, the government, which had circulated the land acquisition bill through the Lok Sabha secretariat, withdrew it after a meeting which Mamta had with Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
The last time the two met, Sonia Gandhi agreed to withdraw the two Congress candidates in favour of the Trinamool and now she agreed to Mamta's demand that the bill would not be introduced. The government had linked the land acquisition bill with the R&R bill and they were to be introduced on the last day of the budget session.
Just a few days ago, it was embarrassment time for the Congress in the Rajya Sabha when it was forced to withdraw the judges' assets bill as insufficient members were present and the Congress could not afford a vote in the introduction stage itself.
A decision was taken by Union Law Minister Veerapa Moily to withdraw the bill. A senior leader said the situation warranted the withdrawal but the question which has arisen is why despite several warnings and stern reminders, MPs and ministers are continuing to play truant from the house.
The most glaring omission of course was the absence of the Prime Minister himself from the Lok Sabha when the leader of the house and the Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee replied to the debate on the finance bill and when the house passed the bill. So far no explanation has been forthcoming on why the PM was absent from the house.
It is Pranab Mukherjee who has been meeting the parliamentary affairs ministers and getting reports from them on the shabby handling of the two houses of Parliament by the floor managers. The absence of 13 MPs during the vote on the constitutional amendment in the Rajya Sabha has been taken very seriously, but a senior leader wanted to know why show cause notices have not been issued to these MPs, many of whom like Subbirami Reddy are not otherwise occupied with any other work.
A number of ministers are out of the country including the external affairs minister S M Krishna, who is now in Australia. The performances of the three ministers for external affairs appear to be attracting the maximum flak, but despite that, the ministers continue to be travelling.
