Cutting across party lines, Rajya Sabha Members Tuesday supported a bill seeking to extend the period for reconstitution of the Central Council for Homoeopathy (CCH) from the existing one year to two years.
The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha last week.
The Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill 2019 moved by Ayush minister Shripad Naik will replace the ordinance issued in this regard by the previous government.
The bill will enable the government to extend the tenure of the Board of Governors in the council for a further period of one year with effect from May 17, 2019.
Earlier a statutory resolution was moved by CPM member Binoy Viswam to disapprove Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 promulgated on March 2, 2019.
Speaking on the resolution, Viswam alleged that the government has least consideration for Parliamentary democracy and have been bypassing Parliament by issuing ordinances.
Participating on the debate on the bill, Congress leader P L Punia supported the bill but raised doubts whether corruption would be curbed by way of extending the tenure of Board of Governors.
He also asked the government to do something about research in the homoeopathy.
Rising to support the bill, Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) asked the government,"Whether you would bring the bill to set up National Commission on Homoeopathy."
Ajay Pratap Singh (BJP), A Vijaykumar (AIADMK)and Santanu Sen (AITC) also supported the bill.
However, some of these members criticised the government for taking the ordinance route to implement their decision and said Parliamentary democracy should not be bypassed.
The minister had earlier explained to the House that The affairs of the Central Homoeopathy Council have been entrusted to a Board of Governors comprising eminent and qualified homoeopathy doctors and eminent administrators till such a time the council is reconstituted.
The tenure is proposed to be extended since the council could not be reconstituted within one year due to non-updation of state registers of homoeopathy during general elections, Naik said.
The government had dissolved CCH following allegations of corruption against the CCH chief, who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2016 for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 20 lakh as part payment for granting approval to a homoeopathy college.
Ramnath Thakur JD U, Manoj Kumar Jha RJD, Tiruchi Siva DMK, Rajmani Patel of the Congress, Vikas Mahatme of BJP, K Somaprasad of the CPI M, V Vijayasai Reddy YSRCP, Ram Kumar Verma of the BJP, Vandana Chavan NCP, Harshvardhan Singh Dungarpur, Sushil Kumar of the Aam Aadmi Party, Madhusudan Mistry and Husain Dalwai from Congress supported the Bill.
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