Voting on Ports Bill in RS; Govt wins 84-44 but after Opposition accuses it of selling assets

Parliament witnessed voting on a Bill for the first time since the Covid-19 protocol was imposed with Opposition MPs pressing for division on the passage of Major Ports Authority Bill that seeks to provide greater autonomy in decision-making to 12 major ports in the country and professionalise their governance.

The Bill was passed with 84 votes in its favour and 44 against it. CPI(M) floor leader Elamaram Kareem demanded a voting through ballots following which Deputy Chairman Harivansh called for lobbies to be cleared for initiating the process.

As social distancing norms were put in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the MPs were spread out in Rajya Sabha chambers, galleries and Lok Sabha chambers. The electronic voting system was also not in place and the MPs were asked to vote through ballots.

Read | Oppn parties in Rajya Sabha oppose bill to develop major ports

All eyes were glued to the House as the demand for division came up as Deputy Chairman Harivansh put the motion for passing the bill before the House.

During the Monsoon Session on September 20 last year, Rajya Sabha had witnessed unruly scenes during the passage of two of the three contentious farm bills with the Opposition then accusing the government of not allowing a division of votes. The incident had led to the suspension of eight Opposition MPs.

However, the voting on this Bill went incident free.

Even as Opposition parties, including Congress, TMC, SP, RJD, DMK, CPI(M) and CPI, accused the government paving the way privatising ports and diluting the powers of the states on land use, Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya sought to allay fears claiming that it seeks to provide autonomy and boost their decision-making powers in order to compete with private ports.

Mandaviya strongly defended the Bill and strongly rejected allegations that it was intended to benefit big corporate houses while emphasising that it would turn these ports into world-class ports and enable their boards to take decisions on their own.

Read | Public-private partnership mode for operational services at major ports: FM

"Would a patriot oppose this bill? This bill is not for privatisation of ports.... The bill has nothing to do with privatisation. Former finance minister Arun Jaitley and former shipping minister Nitin Gadkari had also specified that there will not be privatisation of ports.... The bill is not to sell ports," he said. The BJD, JD(U) and YSRCP supported the Bill.

CPI(M)'s Kareem alleged that the government is seeking to convert the Port authority into a corporate entity and the assets of the ports will be sold off to private players. Samajwadi Party floor leader Ram Gopal Yadav also accused the government of trying to sell the assets of the country.

P Wilson of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) alleged that the bill has only been brought to serve the interests of private players and will lead to the mushrooming of private ports.

CPI's Binoy Viswam said a "patriotic" Indian can only oppose the Bill as the government was paving the way to allow a particular company to get hold of ports. "Already airports are going to them...Our land will become the land of (that company)," he added.