An embarrassed UPA government dropped the Enemy Property Bill listed for debate and passage in the Lok Sabha on Monday as it found itself falling between two stools. The related Ordinance will now be allowed to lapse. This is the result of  massive differences of opinion home minister P Chidambaram and minority affairs minister Salman Khursheed. That divide came out into the open in parliament today.

On one side was the  Bhartiya Janata Party ready to support the original bill based as in the ordinance that sought to evict unauthorised occupants of the evacuees' properties, but opposed the official amendments introduced in the morning and on the other hand were the other opposition parties led by Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav who refused to go with the amendments made to protect poor Muslims living in such properties.

The house was adjourned for two hours, following a pandemonium and both sides rushing into the well and just as the bill came up for a discussion in the afternoon, Chidambaram sprang a surprise by declaring that he was not pursuing it and will bring a fresh bill, incorporating amendments the government proposed, only in the next session.

Since the constitution mandates lapse of any ordinance promulgated by the government unless replaced by a bill in the immediate next parliament session, Chidambaram said whatever legal steps necessary will be taken. He justified withdrawal of the bill on the ground that many members wanted time to study the amendments and he found the request "reasonable."

In yet another development, the government also deferred discussion and passage of two bills for changing the name of state of Orissa to Odisha. Parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal claimed this was done on a request of some MPs from the state.
Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj saw a mischief in the government backing out on the enemy property bill as she suspected that a new ordinance incorporating the amendments her party objected to will be promulgated after the session is over. She wanted the bill, along with the official amendments, sent to the parliamentary standing committee to examine it instead of attempting another ordinance.

Chidambaram refused to oblige, stating that he has taken note of the opposition's fears. It was at this stage that BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani jumped to his feet to back Sushma Swaraj, asserting that the government was planning to bypass the standing committee's scrutiny. An unyielding Chidambaram said Advani was unnecessarily harbouring suspicions as it is not unusual for the government to undertake consultations whenever any legislation comes under criticism.

MINISTER APOLOGISES: Earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal had to tender apology to the House as Sushma Swaraj objected to the impropriety of standing with his back towards the Chair while trying to persuade Mulayam to stop the protest he was leading against the Bill. He had rushed to the desks of Mulayam and Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad to explain to them that their concerns have been already addressed in the official amendments circulated in the morning.

Sushma's stand was that the minister can not engage in consultations with members when the House is in session and that he could have taken them out instead of standing with his back towards the Chair. c