Five amendments moved by the opposition to the Finance Bill 2017 were adopted in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Finance Bill, but Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said he cannot accept the amendments suggested by the Rajya Sabha.
Replying to a short debate on the amendments in the Lok Sabha, the Minister said: "I can't accept five amendments suggested by Rajya Sabha to the Finance bill."
Earlier in the day, the Opposition in the Lower House accused the Government of running roughshod by opening the doors to "political extortionism" and passing "draconian" provisions in the Finance Bill.
After FM Jaitley moved the amended Finance Bill for consideration by the Lok Sabha, Deepender Hooda (Congress) said this was a "historic" occasion as never in the past had the Rajya Sabha amended the Finance Bill. Initiating the discussion, Hooda said the Government was amending 40 laws through the Finance Bill and has brought all these amendments before the House as a Money Bill in which the Upper House has not much say. "The process of change in electoral funding has nothing to do with the Consolidated Fund of India," Hooda said, observing that the Finance Minister through these amendments has made the Rajya Sabha "incidental".
The Government without cleansing the system of political funding is trying to push it under the carpet, he said. "A complete opacity has been created... These measures will benefit shell companies... It is opening the doors for political extortion," Hooda said, adding that the government should have brought a separate bill for transparency in political funding.
The government on Wednesday faced a major embarrassment in the Rajya Sabha as five amendments moved by the opposition to the Finance Bill 2017 were adopted before the House approved the measure. Of the five opposition amendments, three were moved by the Congress member Digvijaya Singh and two by Sitaram Yechury of CPI(M).
The amendments were adopted with a significant margin, with the difference of votes ranging between 27 and 34 votes. Trinamool Congress, which has 10 members, staged a walkout before the voting in the House where the ruling NDA is in a minority. In the 245-member House, the BJP has 56 members while the NDA jointly has 74 members. Earlier, while replying to the debate, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley strongly defended the government's endeavour to make Aadhaar compulsory for access to various benefits, saying it was necessary to check frauds, including tax evasion.
(With agency inputs)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Parliament RNA")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}