LS clears 3 Bills within 30 minutes without debate
New Delhi: Amid continued slogan-shouting from the Opposition benches over the demand for a discussion on the Manipur violence and debate on no-confidence motion, the logjam continued in both the Houses of Parliament and Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day on Friday.
In the midst of uproar in the House, Lok Sabha witnessed a “brisk” business as the Lower House passed three Bills in a span of less than 30 minutes without any debate on the Bills. On Thursday, Lok Sabha had cleared two Bills.
The three Bills that were introduced and passed in Lok Sabha are the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, 2023, the National Dental Commission Bill, 2023, and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023.
It has also come to the notice that the controversial Bill aimed at controlling Delhi bureaucrats may be introduced in Lok Sabha on Monday.
As per the buzz among parliamentarians, it is expected that Lok Sabha Speaker would on Monday announce the time for discussion on no-confidence motion.
However, the passage of Bills despite the admission of no-confidence motion has irked the Opposition members as they have termed it as against the rule-book of the Parliament.
Citing a rule-book, Congress MP Manish Tewari said that the Treasury Benches cannot move Bills when no-confidence motion is pending in Lok Sabha. However, he also urged Speaker Om Birla to “start the discussion on the no-confidence motion without let or demur”.
In Lok Sabha, the House was adjourned within minutes of its commencement on Friday. As the House commenced, Opposition leaders started demanding discussion on no-confidence motion. The Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury asked Speaker Om Birla to let House in order first prior to starting the proceeding of Question Hour and it could be in order only after the discussion on no-trust motion.
Chowdhury further reminded the Speaker that in 1978, when a no-confidence motion was moved on May 10, the discussion was held “on the same day.”
However, in response to Chowdhury, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the government has enough numbers and as per the rules, the government has 10 day’s time. “Whenever you (Speaker) decide, we are ready for the discussion,” he added.
In between some of Opposition members, including Dayanidhi Maran, entered the Well and starting raising their demands and the house was adjourned till 12 pm.
When the house reconvened at noon, Rajendra Agarwal took the Speaker’s chair and began the session’s proceedings amid the continued sloganeering by Opposition members.
After a few minutes at 12.07 pm, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced The Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023. This Bill was not passed and will be taken up next week for consideration and passing.
The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023 was taken up for consideration and passed in Lok Sabha as Opposition members were seen next to the Speaker’s chair holding placards on Manipur. The Bill amends the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
When the Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha by coals and mines minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday, Revolutionary Socialist Party member NK Premachandran had said that it is against the principle of federalism and will benefit multinational corporations. On Friday, only two MPs spoke during the discussion on the Bill.
The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, 2023 and The National Dental Commission Bill, 2023 was introduced for consideration and passing by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, 2023 repeals the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947 and provides for the regulation and maintenance of standards of education and services for nursing and midwifery, while the National Dental Commission Bill, 2023 repeals the Dentists Act, 1948 and constitutes the National Dental Commission, the Dental Advisory Council and three autonomous Boards for regulating dental education and standards of dentistry.
Both the Bills were passed minutes after their introduction by Mandaviya without any discussion. Soon after passage of Bills, the House was adjourned for the day to meet again on Monday.
In Rajya Sabha, when Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar was addressing the house while explaining the significance of Question Hours as the ‘heart of parliamentary proceedings’, TMC MP Derek O’Brien raised to voice his objection, to which, the RS Chairman said that ‘it has become your habit to engage it theatrics’ and adjourned the House till Monday, saying ‘we can’t suffer this’.
Prior to that, Dhankhar said that the House received a total of 47 notices, specifically demanding discussion over Manipur violence. He also urged all members to ‘rise above partisan interests’.
