Government puts 3 UPA bills on hold

Three bills, two seeking to create legislative councils in Rajasthan and Assam and another for scrapping the one in Tamil Nadu, have been put on the backburner by the government due to the Assembly elections in two states and reservations expressed by one state government.

An inter-ministerial group led by home minister Rajnath Singh examining the three bills by the previous UPA government, has decided to take “no further action” due to Assembly polls in Assam and Tamil Nadu, sources said. The Rajasthan government is learnt to have expressed reservation over creation of legislative council in the state. “As elections are due in Assam and Tamil Nadu, we have decided to take no action,” said a senior government official.

The Rajasthan Legislative Council Bill, 2013 was introduced in Rajya Sabha in August 2013 when the state was having a Congress government. The Assam Legislative Council Bill, 2013 seeks to re-establish the upper house in the state legislature which was abolished soon after Independence.