Jan 25, 1999

By Dilip Bobb

One discernible fallout of the succession of minority governments has been the unseemly haste with which they attempt to push through bills, even though in the end it's the average Indian who winds up paying for it. One reason, of course, is that the average length of stay at the crease has been pretty close to that of the Indian cricket team. Here are some of the other bills the Government plans to push through in the coming weeks under pressure from its allies and other politically impaired partners.

The Foreseeable Forcible Conversion Act: Alerted by vigilant members of the VHP and allied religious bodies to a deep-rooted conspiracy hatched by Sonia Gandhi, in league with the Pope and certain western powers, the Government plans to put a ban on starving tribals being duped into converting to Christianity. This, the Government says, is being done through the use of force, threats and intimidation, unlike the VHP's missionaries, a.k.a, the Bajrang Dal, who only use peaceful means. The Act, in the interest of national security, will, however, not apply to Christians being reconverted to Hinduism.

The Foreign Finance Bill: Linked to the above, it is intended to stop the inflow of foreign investment into non-priority areas which till now included infrastructure, airports, insurance and other undesirable areas. This will stop all foreign donations to such subversive organisations like the Missionaries of Charity. However, it will not apply to the funds from abroad meant for patriotic, secular and nationalist organisations like the VHP.

The Cabinet Ceiling Bill: To overcome the threat of blackmail by its allies which has stalled the prime minister's plans to expand his Cabinet, the Government will introduce a bill which puts a ceiling on such sky-high demands. The ceiling will be based on the proportional representation system which ensures that any party will be allowed only half its parliamentary strength in the Cabinet. This means that the Trinamool Congress will get two cabinet berths, the Samata Party four and the AIADMK gets seven. The bill also puts a ceiling on portfolios to ensure that it does not include Industry, Finance, Petroleum, Law, Railways, Commerce, Aviation and similar high-value positions.

The Sports Selection Bill: Based on a proposal submitted by K.P.S. Gill, the bill will make it mandatory for all bureaucrats and failed politicians who head sports associations to be "rested" after a stipulated period. This, the public feels, will be the ideal way to guarantee better results.

The Anti-Dissension Bill: Intended to curb the damage being done to the BJP's image of being a disciplined party, it'll make dissension a culpable offence under the IPC (Inner Party Conflict). Under the new bill, the prime minister has suggested that all points of dissension be submitted to an inquiry commission headed by an ex-chief minister instead of being aired in public. The commission will submit its findings in five years. The bill will initially apply only to Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, but could spread elsewhere.

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