Jairam moves SC against listing Aadhaar Bill as Money Bill

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has moved the Supreme Court challenging the categorisation of Aadhaar Bill as a Money Bill.

The move has deprived the Rajya Sabha from making any amendments to it.Ramesh, a former Union minister, has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court contending that presenting the Aadhaar (Targeted delivery of financial and other subsidies, benefits and services) Bill, 2016 as Money Bill also amounted to emasculation of the Rajya Sabha.

The petition, moved through former solicitor general Mohan Parasaran, is expected to come up for hearing either on April 15 or April 18. The government had recommended to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to list the bill as a Money Bill. According to Parliamentary procedure, the Rajya Sabha cannot make any amendments to a Money Bill. Such a bill is deemed to have been passed if it is not returned by the Rajya Sabha within 14 days.

Ramesh has argued that the Modi government had interpreted Article 110 (a) incorrectly while presenting the Aadhaar Bill as Money Bill.

Speaking at a seminar organised by Ananta Centre and CII, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday questioned the extent to which the Rajya Sabha could be used to block economic decision-making. He insisted that the weight of the “elected House” — Lok Sabha — must always be maintained.

The Congress and other Opposition parties had objected to the presentation of the bill as money bill.