New Delhi: With the Modi
government opting for ordinances eight times in as many months, President
Pranab Mukherjee on Monday cautioned against the "ordinance route"
being taken for normal legislations.
Ordinances are
meant for specific purpose "to meet an extraordinary situation under
extraordinary circumstances", the President said citing the Constitution.
Amidst talk that the government may convene a joint session of Parliament to pass legislations in view of the deadlock in the Rajya Sabha where it does not have a majority, Mukherjee said passage of legislations in that manner "is not practicable because I have seen from 1952 till today only four times laws were passed by joint session".
The remarks of the President, who was answering questions during
an address to Central varsities and research institutions, come against the
backdrop of the Modi government having issued eight ordinances including those for
raising the FDI limit in the insurance sector and e-auctioning of coal
mines.
The President had recently called
three senior ministers including Arun Jaitley and raised questions
over the urgency of the ordinance relating to acquisition of land. However, he
later gave assent to it.
India News Desk