Finance Minister Arun Jaitley determined to bring Insurance Bill

New Delhi: With the Opposition in Parliament blocking the Union government’s efforts to usher in big-ticket reforms, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday made it clear that he was “determined” to bring in the contentious Insurance Bill. Indicating that the government might take the ordinance route, Mr Jaitley sent a clear signal saying “We are extremely determined to go ahead with insurance sector reforms and will not allow a parliamentary disturbance to obstruct or delay a reform of this kind”.

While addressing a FICCI function, Mr Jaitley, without naming the Trinamul, said a political party, whose members are allegedly involved in a chit fund scam, is trying to divert attention by creating obstruction in the functioning of the Rajya Sabha, where the ruling NDA does not have a majority of its own.

He said that although the standing committee of Parliament and a select committee of the Rajya Sabha approved the Bill, which seeks to raise FDI cap from 26 per cent to 49 per cent, “political obstructionism is being used to ensure it does not come on the agenda of Parliament”.

Observing that such attitude cannot stop a reform, Mr Jaitley said, “There are enough safeguards and a constitutional system can deal with and effectively defeat this policy of political obstructions.”