UPA Cabinet to meet again tomorrow; Rahul Gandhi`s anti-graft Bills on agenda

Zee Media Bureau/Deepak Nagpal

New Delhi: The UPA Cabinet will meet again on Sunday and is expected to consider Ordinances on anti-corruption and some other populist measures, PTI reported today. The meeting would come just two days after the Cabinet, going against expectations, on Friday chose against promulgating Ordinances on five Bills, two of them aimed at fighting corruption, being pushed by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. Friday`s meeting was supposed to be the UPA Cabinet`s last meet. The recently concluded last session of the 15th Lok Sabha could not clear these Bills due to disruptions, and the government was reported to be mulling to take the Ordinance route. Earlier, the government appeared to have developed cold feet at the last moment and disfavoured taking the constitutional route, which it feared would most likely be challenged in courts. Coupled with this fear, government functionaries were also not sure of the Ordinances getting the assent of President Pranab Mukherjee. The twin developments could have come as an embarrassment for the Congress-led government just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections due by May. As per sources, the top leadership of the Congress as well as senior government ministers were of the view that the Rashtrapati Bhawan could question the hurry in bringing these legislations just days before the schedule for the General Elections is to be announced. According to sources, the Ordinances were not taken up at yesterday`s Cabinet meet following a red signal from the Congress leadership. The Congress core group, comprising Sonia Gandhi, the PM and top ministers, met last evening as well, after the Cabinet meet was over. Rahul Gandhi, and the Congress, are looking at the Bills as a move to placate the electorate which, as per opinion polls, is angry with the corruption-marred UPA-2 tenure and is unlikely to vote Congress back to power. The Bills in question include the Prevention of Corruption (amendment) Bill, Right of Citizens for Time-bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of Grievances Bill, the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) amendment Bill, Rights of Persons with Disability Bill, and the Delhi HC Act (amendment) Bill.