By : Munibar Barui
Recently, due to the commotion in Parliament the Government of India is hurriedly passing bills without any debate or discussion. The both houses of Parliament i.e., Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha has witnessed numerous adjournments as members of the opposition (from all parties) have continued sloganeering and demanding way out for Pegasus snooping cases, three farm laws, inflation and several other issues that are currently plaguing our country.
In spite of such standoff between the ruling party and the opposition, as of August 05, 2021 around 20 bills were passed either without discussion or minimal, limited to treasury bench MPs speaking on the legislation. The Rajya Sabha has passed 9 bills since the House convened on July 19, 2021 and clocked nearly 17 minutes per bill for discussion and passing, as the Union Government decided to push the legislative business amidst protests by the opposition demanding debate on Pegasus case and other issues.
As of August 05, 2021 the Lok Sabha has already passed 11 bills, each usually taking around8 minutes or so. In this vein, most of these bills were passed without any proper discussion or debate. Thus, the Lok Sabha has not taken up a solo issue for debate or discussion in both the house. The Leader of Opposition (LoP) has observed that “the BJP has Government diluted 10 bills of national importance in 97 minutes. The parliament was mockingly granted 9.7 minutes to reflect, deliberate on and pass each bill. And, the Prime Minister Modiin such attempt is belittling the democratic and parliamentary due process”.
| THE BILLS PASSED IN PARLIAMENT OF INDIA (AS OF AUGUST 05, 2021) | ||
| BILLS PASSED IN RAJYA SABHA (AS OF AUGUST 05, 2021) | ||
| Date | Bill | Minutes of Discussion |
| August 04, 2021 | Airport Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2021 | 16 |
| August 04, 2021 | Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 | 16 |
| August 04, 2021 | Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Bill, 2021 | 23 |
| August 03, 2021 | Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2021 | 39 |
| August 02, 2021 | Inland Vessels Bill, 2021 | 35 |
| July 30, 2021 | Coconut Development Board Bill, 2021 | 1 |
| July 29, 2021 | Factoring Regulation Bill, 2021 | 7 |
| July 28, 2021 | Juvenile Justice Bill, 2021 | 5 |
| July 27, 2021 | Marine and Aids Navigation Bill, 2021 | 8 |
| BILLS PASSED IN LOK SABHA (AS OF AUGUST 05, 2021) | ||
| Date | Bill | Minutes of Discussion |
| August 04, 2021 | Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR Bill, 2021 | 8 |
| August 04, 2021 | Coconut Development Board (Amendment) Bill, 2021 | 4 |
| August 03, 2021 | Tribunal Reforms Bill, 2021 | 9 |
| August 03, 2021 | Essential Defence Services Bill, 2021 | 15 |
| August 02, 2021 | General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021 | 8 |
| July 29, 2021 | Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2021 | 14 |
| July 29, 2021 | Inland Vessels Bill, 2021 | 6 |
| July 28, 2021 | Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2021 | 5 |
| July 28, 2021 | Appropriation (No.3) Bill, 2021 | 3 |
| July 26, 2021 | Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 | 13 |
| July 26, 2021 | National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management Bill, 2021 | 6 |
Most of the debates or discussion were cut short as because the opposition MPs were demanding to debate first on the Pegasus snooping cases, three farm laws, inflation and several other issues before moving into the discussion of such bills. So, the Union Government went ahead with passing bills amidst the din, wherein some opposition MPs demanded division of the house (voting), but were told by the presiding officers of corresponding Houses that it won’t be permitted because opposition affiliates are remonstrating in the well and the House is not in order.
Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a nuanced protocol which are strengthened and loosened as per the need of the Union Government. The opposition MPs had staged protests for several days in the well of the Lok Sabha, surrounding the Chair (of the Speaker) with placards, challenging for a debate on Pegasus case. Nonetheless, the Union Government has followed its tactic of passing as many bills as probable, which are basically replacements for earlier ordinances. If these bills are not passed, then the Union Government will have to repeat the process with Presidential promulgations (under Article: 123) and again come before Parliament in due course of time.