Government offers to send 4 Bills for scrutiny

The Bills inlcude DNA Based Technology (Use and Regulation) Bill, Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code and Dam Safety Bill.

Days after the Opposition accused the government of passing Bills without scrutiny, the government has proposed to send four pieces of legislation to a standing committee or a select committee.

The Opposition parties had demanded that the RTI Amendment Bill, the Triple Talaq Bill and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill be sent to a select committee. However, their motions failed because they did not have the number.

The Bills that the government is willing to send to a standing committee are the DNA Based Technology (Use and Regulation) Bill, 2017, the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019, the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2019, and the Dam Safety Bill, 2019.

“There is no urgency to clear these Bills in this session. So we have told the Opposition [parties] that if they want, we can send them to a standing committee. We have also offered to send the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill to a select committee,” a Union Minister said.

Names for panels

Before adjourning the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Chairman Venkaiah Naidu gave the final call to all parties to send the names of their MPs, from both Houses, for eight department-related standing committees under the Rajya Sabha by August 14.

He stressed that if he did not get the names by then, the members would not be included in the committees.

In a letter to Mr. Naidu, 17 Opposition parties had raised the issue of Bills being passed without parliamentary scrutiny.