Use Ordinance Only Under Compelling Circumstances: President Pranab Mukherjee Cautions Govt in Farewell Speech

The remarks of the outgoing President comes in the backdrop of the recent attempts made by Centre to clear contentious legislations through ordinance route, in a bid to surpass the Rajya Sabha where they lack numbers.

Updated: July 24, 2017 12:37 AM IST

By Mohammed Uzair Shaikh

Use Ordinance Only Under Compelling Circumstances: President Pranab Mukherjee Cautions Govt in Farewell Speech

New Delhi, July 23: In his farewell address to the Members of Parliament on Sunday, President Pranab Mukherjee cautioned the government against the frequent use of ordinance, as it surpasses the mandated discussion over the legislation. President appealed the Centre to resort to ordinance route only under compelling situations.

“I am of the firm opinion that the ordinance route should be used only in compelling circumstances and there should be no recourse to ordinances on monetary matters,” he said, while addressing the joint session of lawmakers in the Parliament’s Central Hall.

The outgoing President warned the government against promulgating ordinances for legislations which the House is considering to deliberate upon, or the Parliamentary committee has been assigned to review its merits. ALSO READ: Won’t be Immodest to Call Myself the Creation of This Parliament: President Pranab Mukherjee in Farewell Speech

“Ordinance route should not be taken on matters which are being considered or have been introduced in the House or a committee of the House,” he said. Rather than resorting to the use of ordinance, the President said, government should task the House committee to expedite their report on the legislation in contention.

“If a matter is deemed urgent, the concerned committee should be made aware of the situation and should be mandated to present its report within the stipulated time,” he added.

The remarks of Pranab Mukherjee comes in the backdrop of the multiple attempts made by government to clear contentious legislations through the ordinance route, in a bid to avoid the Rajya Sabha where they lack numbers. ALSO READ: 10 Rajaji to 10 Akbar: Tale of two presidents, two bungalows

Centre had promulgated 5 ordinances over the past three years after failing to pass amendments to the Enemy Property Act, 1968. According to reports, Pranab Mukherjee was not in favour to sign the ordinance on the fourth and fifth occasion, which compelled the Centre to depute senior ministers to convince him. The amendments tabled by the Modi government were finally cleared by the Parliament in March this year.

Apart from the Enemy Property Act, 1968 (Amendment), Centre had also used the ordinance route twice after failing to pass amendments to the Land Acquisition Act, 2013. In wake of the nationwide agrarian protests, the amendments were discarded by the Narendra Modi government in July, 2015.

Apart from cautioning the government over the use of ordinance route, Pranab Mukherjee also pulled up the Opposition for the frequent disruptions in the Parliament. The President said the soul of the House lies in democracy, debate and discussion, but not in disruption. “I realized how disruption hurts the opposition more than the government as it denies them the opportunity to raise the concerns of the people,” he remarked.

President Mukherjee is set to demit the Office on Monday, with the conclusion of his five-year tenure. He would be replaced by Ram Nath Kovind, who won the presidential poll against joint Opposition candidate Meira Kumar.

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