Jaitley argues why Aadhaar is money bill -Governance Now

Jaitley argues why Aadhaar is money bill

Finance minister reiterates ‘pith and substance’ argument in Rajya Sabha

GN Bureau | March 16, 2016

#money bill #supreme court #law #parliament #arun jaitley #UIDAI #Aadhaar #economy

Finance minister Arun Jaitley in Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha witnessed the kind of debate it has not seen at least in recent decades as it took up for consideration the Aadhaar bill on Wednesday. Essentially, the opposition in the upper house was uncomfortable with the classification of the bill as a ‘money bill’ on which it will have no say.

That is why Sitaram Yechury of CPM repeatedly asked the chair if the bill was “introduced” in the house or “moved”, and deputy chairman PJ Kurien had to clarify that being a money bill, it was merely “transmitted” from the lower house.

In this context, also read: Money bill is latest in Modi’s governance model

The opposition asked finance minister Arun Jaitley to explain on what grounds it was termed a “money bill”. In reply, Jaitley went on to make a pitch for the bill – presenting salient points, giving full credit to the previous UPA regime for the conception of Aadhaar – but when pressed to clarify the classification, he repeated the argument he had made a fortnight ago in the lower house.

Jaitley maintained that in “pith and substance” the bill was about subsidies, hence related to the consolidated fund of India, and thus fully satisfying the criteria for a money bill laid down in Article 110 of the constitution. “Government money is spent on subsidies. You insist on the identity of the person (beneficiary) and this law is about how to identify that person.”

The constitution, however, uses the term ‘only’ – the bill has to be only and exclusively about the consolidated fund. Replying to that argument from the opposition, the finance minister cited the first Lok Sabha speaker, Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar, who (Jaitley said) had ruled very clearly that the only law that would satisfy that criterion would be a single section law. In other words, Jaitley argued that any bill solely related to the matters concerning the consolidated fund of India would also have administrative machinery in it and that does not disqualify it as a money bill.

Jaitley compared the old UPA bill – about giving the legal backing to the UIDAI set up by an executive order – and the new Aadhaar bill. His argument was that the former was primarily about setting up an authority, and hence not a money bill per se, whereas the latter was essentially about plugging subsidy leakage and hence a money bill – even if it also has other provisions about privacy and other matters related to the process of saving subsidy.

He also added that going by the constitutional criteria it is the Lok Sabha speaker’s decision to call a legislation ‘money bill’ and “no authority of this land can challenge it”.

Comments

Other News

“Game” of cricket: Governance lessons from India’s favourite sport

India’s cricket journey is more than a record of sporting triumphs; it is a live case study in strategy, incentives, and equilibrium: the very foundations of Game Theory. As India prepares for its eight-match white-ball series against Australia, the world’s most-watched rivalry will again unfol

In this year of extreme rainfall, climate change has amplified deluge

Southwest Monsoon 2025 recently concluded with ‘above-normal’ rainfall to the tune of 108% of the long-period average (LPA). This is second consecutive year in the last decade to record above normal rains. Climate change has a critical role in driving the rainfall on the higher side, according

This Diwali, as we clean our homes, let`s clean our digital lives too

Every year, as Diwali approaches, I begin my annual ritual of cleaning – opening drawers, cupboards, and those mysterious “boxes of everything” we all seem to have. It starts as an act of tidying up, but it always turns into a little journey of rediscovery. Among the old receipts and forg

Sea leave rise: Multi-level adaptive governance needed to meet the challenge

By the end of this century, global sea levels may rise by more than 1 metre, and the mean sea level rise is expected to increase by 180 mm. Climate change is one of the gravest issues before us and one of the most pressing issues linked to the climate change is the sea level rise. The coastal communities a

Rethinking the funder-practitioner relationship in capacity development

The Human Capacity Development landscape in the social development context has evolved significantly over the years. From the more simplistic term “training,” it has now developed into a much more nuanced concept, “Competency-Based Capacity Building” (CBCB). Yet, one question persis

The economics of smart cities

Imagine a city where trash isn’t trash, energy isn’t wasted, and economic prosperity isn’t achieved at the cost of human wellbeing. A city where every rupee invested in infrastructure yields returns not just in roads and buildings, but in health, jobs, equality, and dignity. Smart city pr