by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group
RS Chairman sent 80% Bills to Committees
Naidu favours scrutiny of Bill by Committees
Harish Gupta
New Delhi, July 27
The Chairman of Rajya Sabha & Vice president M Venkaiah Naidu sent as many as 8 out of ten bills to the Department related Standing Committees of Parliament during the last two years.
Allaying apprehensions that the procedures are violated and traditions broken when the bill are not being sent to the committees for scrutiny, Naidu was at pains to explain to some of the members that 10 Bills were first introduced in Rajya Sabha until the last session. Of them, 8 were referred to the concerned committees. In fact, one more Bill, the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, introduced in and passed by Lok Sabha, after scrutiny of standing committee of the Lok Sabha, and sent to the Rajya Sabha was again sent to the RS Committee.
It was explained that during the ongoing 249th Session of Rajya Sabha, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, Arbitration and Conciliation Bill and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, were first introduced in Rajya Sabha and passed without being referred to Standing Committees as new Committees had not been constituted after the fresh Lok Sabha polls. One more Bill viz., the Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill is still to be taken up for consideration in Rajya Sabha next week, say these sources. The Opposition parties insisted on referring the RTI Bill to the Select Committee. But it lost the vote. Naidu is reported to have told some members that he would not bypass the committees to fast track passage of the bills.
Procedurally, a Bill can be referred to Department Related Standing Committee of Parliament for scrutiny where it is first introduced. If a Bill is introduced first in Lok Sabha than that House alone can refer it to the Standing Committee. If a Bill introduced in and then passed by LS and transmitted to the Upper House, it can refer to Select Committee or pass it without referring to a committee.
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