MR. SPEAKER: Enough, enough. Now, please listen to me. The procedure is very clear.

... (Interruptions)

MR. SPEAKER: I have said before the lunchbreak that there is a precedent when a Bill even at a third reading stage was postponed. For that, the Mover of the Bill has to move a Motion. If there is a consensus, it is all right. Otherwise, even for the postponement, I will have to put it to the vote of the House. I am very clear about it. Therefore, if you want to move a Motion for postponement, you can move it. But I will have to put even that Motion to the vote of the House. .. (Interruptions) I do not think that there is any consensus.

SHRI P. CHIDAMBARAM: Sir, I do not want to do anything without a certain consensus in the House. I am not talking about unanimity. The point it that we got stuck on clause 13 with two very sharp positions. I am not scoring a point or anything on that. One amendment has been defeated. They are entitled to press that point again. After all, it is a democracy and a system. They can press their point even after that amendment is defeated.

Then, there is another amendment which is of a more restrictive nature. According to me, there is a wider support for that amendment. Therefore, after consulting everybody, I have proposed that perhaps there is a way out having regard to very many factors including the way LIC and GIC are functioning. GIC is functioning in 35 countries. LIC is functioning in five countries. Having regard to all that, I said and I repeat it that there is no proposal to allow a foreign company or a multinational. But there is a proposal to modestly open the health insurance business to Indian companies. Therefore, I proposed the amendment. I am not moving it formally because I cannot do it without your permission. I have proposed an amendment.

At that stage, the Prime Minister interceded to say that he would like Shri Vajpayee and others to respond. All right, are we moving towards a meeting ground? I recognise your point of view. But on this, can we have a meeting ground?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: No, no.

SHRI P. CHIDAMBARAM: I am aware of your point. Even on this, there is no meeting ground. What the Prime Minister has proposed is: on this - the formulation which I have given and the formulation which you have - is there a meeting ground? Can we talk about it? So, the Prime Minister says, "Would you consider deferring this matter until we talk about it?" I would appeal to Shri Vajpayee to respond to this. We can have a meeting ground. We will involve them also. We will involve the Congress. They want some time to look at it. The Congress really wants some time to look at it. So, let us involve everybody. We can have a formulation which takes care of apprehension. You may say that Shri Jaswant Singh repeatedly said about some apprehension. I am trying to allay it. Let us see whether there is a way to allay your apprehension. I think Sections 13 and 26 are there. We will allay it even better. Let us try to meet. If there can be an agreement on that, we can defer the debate. Otherwise, I think, the appeal of the Prime Minister should be responded to by the Leader of the Opposition.

SHRI ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE (LUCKNOW):

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