Scrutiny needed, govt shouldn’t push Bills in hurried manner, Kerala MP writes to PM

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.

According to the MP from Kollam in Kerala, the members were denied their democratic right to propose amendments when the Bills were passed on the same day.

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”.

“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,” he wrote in his letter. He said comprehensive amendment Bill or a fresh comprehensive Bill should be brought in with long-term perspective.

He 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.