Cabinet defers Food Security bill, but approves anti-graft legislation

Differences between allies of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government saw the cabinet defer a decision on the draft Food Security bill, which was to have been introduced in the winter session of parliament.

The Manmohan Singh-led government, wiser after the fiasco over foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail – when the cabinet approved the move to open up the sector to FDI, but had to back off within a few days following vehement opposition from allies – decided to put the draft bill on hold for a week.

But the cabinet approved four other proposals, including the draft of three anti-graft bills, which will form a key part of the Lokpal bill package that the government is working on.

These three bills include the Citizen's Right to Grievances Redressal Bill, the official amendment to the Public Interest and Protection Bill (Whistleblower Protection) and the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill. The cabinet also okayed the Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Bill.

The Food Security bill, a contentious piece of legislation that has seen sharp differences between senior ministers of the Manmohan Singh cabinet and members of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (which formulated the bill), is among the much-touted social security legislation planned by the UPA.

The first one was the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme, which was also pushed by the NAC. The MGNREGA costs the government about Rs40,000 crore annually. The Food Security legislation will see the cost of food subsidies skyrocket from Rs63,000 crore to Rs95,000 crore.