New Delhi: The Finance Bill 2023, which gives effect to the tax proposals for the fiscal year beginning April 1, was on Friday passed in the Lok Sabha with 45 amendments as opposition members were protesting in the House seeking a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani issue.
As with the passage of the Union Budget on Thursday, there was no discussion on this Bill.
As Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman moved the Finance Bill 2023 in the Lower House, there was heavy sloganeering by the opposition members in support of their demand for a probe into the Union government’s links with the corporate house. The opposition MPs raised slogans like “Modi, Adani, bye bye” during the proceedings.
Speaking while moving the Bill, Sitharaman said the Union government had received recommendations that the National Pension System for government employees needs to be improved. She then proposed to set up a “committee under the Finance Secretary to look into this issue of pensions and evolve and approach which addresses the needs of the employees while maintaining fiscal prudence to protect the common citizens.” The approach, she said, will be designed for adoption by both central and state governments.
The Finance Bill was subsequently passed without any discussion despite there being 64 official amendments, including the one that seeks withdrawal of long-term tax benefits on certain categories of debt mutual funds. Yet another amendment provides for setting up the GST Appellate Tribunal.
The Wire had earlier reported how on Thursday (March 23), the Lok Sabha passed the 2023-24 Union budget in just 12 minutes, without any discussion on it. This too had happened at a time when the House was witnessing protests from the Opposition.
The report had stated that the Demands for Grants and Appropriation Bills was taken up after two adjournments, as the opposition continued to insist on a discussion on the allegations against the Adani group – of accounting fraud and stock manipulation – raised by Hindenburg Research in January. The BJP too has been disrupting parliament, insisting on an apology from Rahul Gandhi for his remarks made in the UK.
After two failed attempts to pass the Budget, it was finally done around 6 pm in just 12 minutes. Speaker Om Birla put the amendments suggested by the opposition to vote, and they were rejected by voice vote.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman then moved the demands for grants for 2023-2024 and relevant Appropriation Bills. The Speaker, according to The Tribune, put the demands for grants of all ministries for voting. Opposition MPs were protesting and shouting slogans by this time, but the demands were passed anyway – with no discussion whatsoever on the grants to different ministries.
Congress leader and former finance minister P. Chidambaram had subsequently criticised the manner in which the Budget was passed without any discussion saying it was “the worst message from a parliamentary democracy”.