New Delhi: The ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress narrowed their differences considerably over proposed amendments to the Insurance Bill, and clause-by-clause discussions are now taking place in the Rajya Sabha select committee to which the proposed law was referred in the earlier session of Parliament.
Sources said the two sides were close to an agreement, and the committee had been given a fresh deadline of December 12. The sources said it was hoped that the final report could be submitted to the Rajya Sabha Chairman before that deadline. As the discussion remained “inconclusive” on Tuesday, the committee will meet again on December 8 to work out the final report and the draft will circulated among the members, sources said.
It is learnt that committee chairman Chandan Mitra and senior Congress leader Anand Sharma, who was UPA’s commerce minister, had a detailed one-on-one discussion on the “contentious” provisions of the amendment bill, and they indicated they had “largely agreed to each other’s positions.” A source said the Congress proposed some changes in the draft which would be incorporated.
