‘Amendments being brought in piecemeal manner’: Kollam MP writes to PM against pushing bills

 

New Delhi: Kollam Lok Sabha MP N K Premachandran has sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his intervention to ‘strengthen the credibility’ of Parliamentary democratic system. In his letter, he criticised the way the government pushed Bills in a hurried manner without discussion, and the ‘recurrent amendments to existing laws in piecemeal manner’.

 

The RSP MP, a member of the panel of chairpersons to preside over Lok Sabha, demanded a special session of Parliament on the occasion of Azadi Ka Amrith Mahotsav to ‘discuss about the smooth, effective and disruption free functioning Parliament without invoking expulsion/suspension of members’. According to the MP, the members were denied their democratic right to propose amendments when the Bills were passed on the same day.

 

Pointing out that the Prime Minister’s message for detailed debate, discussion, decision and dissent in Parliament was not complied with, Premachandran said ‘scrupulous scrutiny’ of various clauses of the Bills are essentially required for a fruitful legislation. He criticised the manner in which the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was introduced and passed in Lok Sabha, on the same day as the supplementary list of business.

 

Premachandran’s letter comes in the backdrop of the Opposition alleging that the government pushed the Bills in Parliament without detailed discussion and did not follow rules and procedures during the Winter Session, which concluded on Wednesday. One of the most vocal voices in the House, who questioned the Treasury benches for ‘not following rules and procedures’, Premachandran criticised the government’s move to bring repeated amendments to existing laws in ‘piecemeal manner’.

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‘The executive must foresee the shortcomings likely to arise on implementation of any law and plug the loopholes at the time of debate in the House on the basis of suggestions made by the Members instead of hurriedly passing the law’, the RSP senior leader wrote in his letter. He said that comprehensive amendment Bill or a fresh comprehensive Bill should be brought in with long-term perspective. He further suggested that the government should be more proactive in having detailed discussions for ‘scrupulous scrutiny ‘of the Bills and that the government should accept positive suggestions from the Opposition.