New Delhi, March 24 (IANS) The Congress Thursday made light of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bailing out the government over a contentious bill to regulate pension funds in the country.

Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said that such support comes on normal days and the BJP would have looked even more "intransigent" had it not supported the legislation.

"They would have looked even more irresponsible if they had not supported public initiative measures... They would have looked even more intransigent," Singhvi said.

He said the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill was a government initiative which was merely to be introduced in the Lok Sabha Thursday.

The party spokesperson said the bill was a specific issue and support on such measures can come about. "On normal days, it happens," he said.

He added that the BJP's balance sheet "of balanced politics is completely on deficit side".

A senior Congress leader said on condition of anonymity that the party should have been better prepared to ensure smooth introduction of the bill. He said that care is taken in normal course to ensure adequate presence of members when a contentious legislation is introduced.

Another leader involved with the party's floor management, however, said the party was taken by surprise at the demand for division from the Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Basudeb Acharia when the bill was introduced.

He said that no whip was issued to party members to be present in the house and expressed gratitude to the BJP for its support to the bill.

The BJP came to the government's rescue when the bill was to be introduced in the Lok Sabha and many Congress members, including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, were not present to support it.

With the BJP backing the introduction of the bill, the division showed 115 MPs supporting the legislation, 43 against it and one member abstaining.

The bill proposes statutory backing to an empowered watchdog to regulate old age security.