15th Lok Sabha may leave 70 Bills as lapsed

There will be a short Budget Session next year before the elections but the possibility of any meaningful legislative business being transacted then is dim. The only thing that may be passed is a vote on account. Once the House is dissolved,all pending Bills will get lapsed, said a senior Lok Sabha functionary.

Among the important Bills that could lapse unless passed before the new Lok Sabha is sworn in is the Constitution One Hundred and Eighth Amendment Bill,2008,better known as the Womens Reservation Bill,which seeks to reserve one-third of all seats in Lok Sabha and the legislative assemblies for women. Among other Bills that could lapse at the end of the term of Lok Sabha are the Constitution One Hundred and Twentieth Amendment Bill,2013,which seeks to replace the collegium system of appointments to higher judiciary,the Constitution One Hundred and Tenth Amendment Bill,2009,which,if passed,would have reserved at least one-third of the total number of seats in panchayats for women and the Constitution One Hundred and Seventeenth Amendment Bill,2012,which says that all Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes notified in the Constitution would be deemed to be backward.

However,most of the proposed legislations aimed at checking corruption are pending in Rajya Sabha and wont lapse due to general elections. However,Rajya Sabha too has an unusually large number of pending legislations,around 55 at last count,with the Atomic Energy Amendment Bill,1992 being the oldest.

Since Parliament has been adjourned sine die,the government can always convene it again and try to get some Bills passed. But this will be easier said than done, said a Congress minister.