35 other bills listed for consideration, 32 more listed for introduction in the Monsoon Session.
The Lok Pal Bill will be introduced in the Lok Sabha by August 3 and it will be the government's endeavour to ensure its early passage in the month-long monsoon session itself, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal told reporters on Friday. The government would, he said, refer it to a standing committee of the House.
Bansal said 35 other Bills, including the one on women’s reservation, have been listed for consideration and passage in the session, concluding on September 8. Of these, nearly 30 have already secured consensus at the standing committee level and merely have to be debated and passed.
| OTHER KEY BILLS LISTED FOR INTRODUCTION |
| * The National Food Security Bill, 2011 |
| * The Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Bill, 2011 |
| * The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Bill, 2011 |
| * The Agriculture Bio-Security Bill, 2011 |
| * The Nuclear Regulatory Authority Bill, 2011 |
| * The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill, 2011 |
| * The Warehousing Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2011 |
| * The Electronic Service Delivery Bill, 2011 |
| * The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2011 |
| * The National Commission for Human Resources for Health Bill, 2011 |
| * The Customs Law (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2011 |
| * The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2011 |
| * The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 |
Besides the Lok Pal Bill, 32 other important ones for introduction include the National Food Security Bill, one on land acquisition and rehabilitation, and the Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Bill.
Bansal said if the standing committee gave its recommendations on the Lok Pal Bill by the end of August, its passage could go ahead.He dismissed team Anna Hazare’s criticism of the Bill, cleared by the Cabinet yesterday, saying it was the view of just a section of civil society and “not a democratic idea”.
“They should also respect others’ views,” the minister said. With the session expected to be stormy, the minister assured the government’s readiness to discuss any issue. He appealed to the Opposition for cooperation in smooth conduct of the business. The session is scheduled to have 22 sittings. Bansal denied the government was postponing bringing forward the Bill concerning whistleblowers (those who reveal corruption or misuse within an organisation), saying it was already on the “live register” of Parliament.
He answered no questions on the resignations by a dozen MPs from the Telangana region to press the separate statehood demand. “We have no role. The Speaker has to consider it and take a decision,” he said. He felt Public Accounts Committee chairman Murli Manohar Joshi should not proceed with the draft report on the telecom spectrum scam, since it had been returned by the Speaker.
“Joshi is a senior member and he should not have sent the draft report to the Speaker in the first place. Only those reports which have been approved are sent to the Speaker and not the drafts,” he said.
