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Journalism of Courage
DMK MP Tiruchi Siva tells Liz Mathew about his dissent on report of select committee on coal bill.
The select committee recommended “no modification” to the coal bill. Why did you dissent to that?
We are of the view that all stakeholders had not been heard. The committee concluded its report in just five sittings. Suggestions we and others gave have not been incorporated… We found the report incomplete and not comprehensive.
What have you objected to?
Labourers’ interests were ignored, the states’ rights not honoured… The Congress (Digvijaya Singh, P Bhattacharya and Rajeev Shukla) and CPM (K N Balagopal) too have given dissent notes.
How do you view the hurry the government showed in getting the report in?
Time was not sufficient… The select committee could have sat and discussed the clauses in more detail.
Do you agree with the view that forming the panel was just a political tool to work around objections?
I will not comment on the committee’s functioning.
The opposition has taken a stand that every bill that did not go to a standing committee should go to a select committee…
Any bill should go to a parliamentary panel that can scrutinise it. It is very important that a bill is studied in detail before it is cleared.
