Late for meeting, law secretary pulled up by House committee

Representational image.

Law Secretary Suresh Chandra was pulled up by a parliamentary committee for having arrived 20 minutes late for a meeting Tuesday, sources said. The Select Committee on the Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill, 2017, had called Chandra for a meeting to discuss the legal position on a Bill to provide constitutional status to a backward class panel. Chandra arrived 20 minutes late, at which the panel members reportedly expressed displeasure. The panel chief asked him to treat the meetings seriously and arrive on time.

Sources said this was the second consecutive meeting of the panel for which the law secretary had arrived late. There have been other instances of secretary-level government officers facing the ire of parliamentary panels for coming late or not coming at all. Last month, Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi expressed regret for skipping a meeting. Panel members had earlier considered a privilege motion against him for “not appearing” before the PAC sub-committee headed by BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab.

With the Centre’s proposal to provide constitutional backing to the National Commission for Backward Classes through a Bill facing opposition hurdles in the Rajya Sabha, the Bill was referred to the select committee headed by BJP leader Bhupendra Yadav on April 11. The committee has asked the law secretary to appear later with detailed information on the issue.