Govt agnst Oppn bid to send Whistleblowers Bill to select

Opposition parties in Rajya Sabha today made a strong pitch for referring the key whistle blowers bill to a Select Committee while opposing the proposed changes in it, even as Government downplayed the demand.
Members of the Congress, CPI(M) and Samajwadi Party wanted the government not to rush the discussion and passage of the Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015, with Congress member Jairam Ramesh alleging that "a very major dilution" was being made in the legislation and insisting "please do not rush with a discussion" on it.
Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh, however, dismissed the charge saying it was "not appropriate" to say that the government was trying to curtail the scope of the bill and said the amendments only aimed at putting the safegaurds, which were not there earlier.

Mani Shankar Aiyar (Congress) rejected the ministers' argument saying he is being "extremely disingenuous" in arguing that the Act passed in the previous Lok Sabha was brought with "slight" changes.
Singh responded saying that he did not utter the word "slight" and argued that the amendments were made only in those areas which have already been included under the ambit of Right To Information (RTI) Act.
Naresh Agrawal (SP) said there was no need to "rush through" this bill and sought that the discussion on it should be held later.

Expressing disagreement with Opposition's insistence for suspending the debate on the bill and discuss it only after the report of a select panel, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah said the members should not be seen as being interested in prolonging the passage of an anti-graft measure.

He said the House has only referred one such measure, the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill 2013, to a select panel and an impression should not go that the MPs were "not showing much interest" towards the issue of fighting corruption. "That is the general pereption," Naidu said.
Insisting that the Bill going to the Select Committee was an "indispensible necessity", Aiyar said the Minister was trying to give the impression that there are no significant changes to the Bill.
Hussain Dalwai, also Congress, moved a motion for the
bill to be sent to the Select Committee but the Chair said the motion has been moved as part of an amendment and can be taken up only after the discussion on the issue is complete.

Aiyar said that as per a media report, at least 30 whistleblowers have lost their lives between 2010-2014.
"Instead of protecting the whistleblowers, protection is being extended to Ministers, public servants and heads of public sector enterprises", he said and accused the government of trying to "push through the Bill in hurry".
"Why this authoritarianism? We were earlier told we are abusing the brute majority but you are indulging in it. If we stand united, the opposition will be in majority in Rajya Sabha," Aiyar said.
"You are demonstrating authotarian streak," he asserted, accusing the government of trying to "railroad their way through Parliament".

The Congress leader said the Whistleblower Bill will teach the lesson that they cannot hope to "smuggle past" the opposition such important Bills.
Charging the government with trying to protect ministers, public servants and heads of public sector enterprises with "ulterior motive", Aiyar said there are at least 10 exceptions being given in the Bill which goes against the basis of the Bill itself.
He said by bringing in exceptions in the name of national security and defence, the government wants to ensure that there was a fear among the whistleblowers.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said both the whistle blowers and the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013, should go to same Select Committee as they are closely linked to each other.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh, who moved the bill, said the government does not find any issue for it to be referred to the Select Committee. He said the changes introduced in the bill are same which were earlier proposed by then Leader of Opposition and accepted by the UPA government in 2013.
To this, Azad replied that this was a dynamic world that and views change with time. He also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statements opposing GST as the Chief Minister saying GST will never be there.
The Minister said he was only trying to put things in perspective and added that the matter rested with Azad's statement.

Tapan Kumar Sen CPI (M) supported the Congress move and said the definition of the word 'public servant' should be expanded since there was a lot of partenrship with private ventures in implementation of government projects and schemes.
He gave the example of an employee of a private firm who was sacked by the company after he turned a whistle blower in an insurance scheme of Rajasthan.
Congress leader Madhusudan Mistry alleged that the government was trying to shut down voices that will emerge in the future. "Under the garb" of national interest, defence, the government wants to suppress information and bring in fear so that no one speaks out.

Mistry wondered why the government was interested in protecting the interests of companies.