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As the Rajya Sabha also decided to sit till August 7 to consider 18 pending legislations, the Opposition parties wrote to Chairman Venkaiah Naidu cautioning him against ‘hurried passage’ of the Bills without discussion in Parliamentary panels. Though it failed to send the RTI (Amendment) Bill to the select committee on Thursday, the 17 Opposition parties insisted that at least six of the 18 Bills should go to a standing or select committee of Parliament.
Announcing the legislative business, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan said in the Rajya Sabha that the Government business will consist of consideration and passing of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill; and the Bills relating to Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage); Companies (Amendment) Second; Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes; Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment ; the Motor Vehicles (Amendment); the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation; Consumer Protection; Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment; the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment); Surrogacy (Regulation); Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights); Code on Wages; Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code ; National Medical Commission; Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment); the Repealing and Amending Bill and the National Institute of Design (Amendment).
The Opposition wants the Centre to send both labour code Bills, and the Bills relating to UAPA, Transgender Rights, DNA Technology and Triple Talaq to a select or standing committee of Parliament.
The Opposition parties, however, expressed anguish at the government’s reluctance to send Bills to panels. “We, the undersigned parties, wish to register our anguish and serious concern over the manner in which the government is hurriedly passing legislations without any scrutiny by Parliamentary Standing or Select Committees. This is a fundamental departure from the established practice and healthy traditions of enacting legislations.”
It said that in the 14th Lok Sabha, under the UPA, 60 per cent of bills were sent for scrutiny to Parliamentary committees while in the 15th Lok Sabha, 71 per cent of bills were sent for scrutiny. But in the 16th Lok Sabha, under NDA, only 26 per cent of bills were sent for scrutiny. “Now, in the 17th Lok Sabha, 14 bills have already been passed in the first session. None of these bills has been referred to a Standing Committee or Select Committee for legislative scrutiny. Public consultation is a long established practice where parliamentary committees scrutinise bills, deliberate, engage and work towards improving the content and quality of the legislation,” the letter stated.
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