New Delhi:
Government and the Congress-led Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Thursday locked horns on the issue of sending RTI (Amendment) Bill to a Select Committee of the House, forcing four adjournments.
As soon as the House resumed in the afternoon, Deputy Chairman Harivansh asked the Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh to move the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill.
After moving it for consideration, the minister urged the Chair to hold discussion on the bill and then decide on the motions for its passage as well as the issue of sending the draft law to a select committee.
As many as five members had given notice for amendment seeking to send the bill to a select Committee.
The government stuck to its point that the motions for sending the bill to select committee and passage of the draft law would be taken up after the discussions.
The House witnessed four brief adjournments amid the din as Congress, DMK, CPI, CPM, TMC and AAP members remained in the Well and raised slogans against the government.
The opposition members also stuck to their demand to move the motion for sending the bill to select committee before initiating discussion on that.
Before the stalemate, TMC leader Derek O’Brien told the Chair that the House took up two short duration discussions and three calling attention during this session.
He said that as per convention, the House should take up at least one short duration discussion in a week and therefore sufficient time is not being given to discussing important issues.
He also said that a short duration discussion on ministry of MSME was listed for discussion which later vanished.
On this, Leader of the opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the House is still short of two short duration discussion during this session.
He also said,”We have been passing legislation. There has to be discussion on those.”
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi said,”I assure that next week, we are ready to clear the backlog (of short duration discussion).”
On the SS Roy of TMC said that since the House has not been formally extended till next week, the part of the minister’s statement talking about extension of the House should be expunged.
Prakash Javadekar said,”Conventions are relevant when the House runs smoothly. The other House passed bills. As many as 22 bills lapsed. The House could not pass it. There is context to it.”
Thereafter Congress leader Anand Sharma raised the issue of scrutiny of bills before passage in the House.
Sharma said,”We are not under obligation to blindly endorse the bill which come from Lok Sabha. We are clear on it that if other House has not referred the bill to standing committee then it is our duty to send it to a committee. It cannot be done in hurry.”
RJD leader Manoj Jha objected to Javadekar’s remark on peformance of other House.
BJP leader Bhupender Yadava said that the issue of sending the bill to select committee would come when it would come up for discussion.
The Opposition members got agitated when the Deputy Chairman called five members for moving the motion for referring the bill to select committee and then asked to initate debate on the draft law.
Congress leader P Chidambaram said that “you are confused as the members have not moved an amendment to the bill rather they have moved a motion to send the bill to a select committee”.
He asked how can there be disucssion on the bill without disposing off a motion as that motion has already been adopted.
While moving his motion for sending the bill to select committe, Congress member M V Rajeev said that this is an attempt to weeken the RTI law.
Binoy Viswam of CPI, E Kareem CPI and K K Ragesh of CPM also moved the motion to send the bill to a select committee.
The Deputy Chairman called Jairam Ramesh as first speaker on the bill. But when he could speek amid the din, Harivansh called V P Saharsabuddhe for discussion.
The Congress and other Opposition members kept on raising slogans in the well and Deputy Chairman adjourned the House for 15 minutes till 2:46 PM.
The House again adjourned for 10 ministues and as the stalemate continued it led to another brief adjournment. Afher this the House adjourned for another 15 minutes.
As the protests continued and some members threw papers in the Well of the House, Deputy Chairman Harivansh said it amounted to indiscipline and observed what impression was being set especially as school children were sitting in the Visitor’s gallery to witness the proceedings.
The Deputy Chairman made repeated appeals to protesting members to return to their seats and said they should participate in the discussion on the Bill and vote on the Bill to be sent to the Select Committee.
Without naming the Congress, BJP leader Shiv Pratap Shukla recalled the days of Emergency observing that people were jailed and said the government was not trying to dilute the Right to Information (RTI) Act and wants to ensure its proper implementation.
Shukla said a few days ago some people returned their titles and, pointing towards the protesting members in the Well, mentioned they earlier stood in support of such people who were supporters of naxalites and terrorists.
He said some people now want to present a view that Prime Minister must stop mob lynching. He said this government framed a law to curb mob lynching.
Vinay Sahasrabudhhe of the BJP said what happens in select committees is not much different from the discussion that takes place in the House and the process will only consume time.
I believe those sloganeering and trying to quell our voice are attempting to snatch away our right to speak, he said to the protesting members.
A Navaneethakrishnan of the AIADMK said his party supports the Bill.
When asked to speak as per his turn on the Bill by the Deputy Chairman, Manoj Kumar Jha of the RJD said he was witnessing the killing of democracy and does not want to be a part of it.
Anil Desai from Shiv Sena said democracy if at all being disturbed in the House was a shameful act of the Opposition and expressed “strong support” of his party to the Bill.
V Vijayasai Reddy of the YSRCP also supported the Bill.
In his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha, Sasmit Patra of the BJD termed the RTI an important ingredient of governance and said his party has certain reservations and would seek an assurance from the government that the changes through the amendments will not lead of any dilution of the overall standing and flow of the RTI Act 2005.
When the House resumed after fourth adjournment, Abhishek Manu Singhvi (Cong), participating in the debate, opposed the Bill.
He said the amendments in RTI has been sought to make it “NRTI” (Not to Right to Information) and what the government was terming simple changes were actually meant to establish its control.
“The government is scared to giving independence to RTI. If you make this amendment, you’re going to downgrade the institution and control it,” he said.
Singhvi said that instead of strengthening and elevating it was interestingly a reverse amendent to devalue the RTI and strange reasons were cited for it like the salaries and perks of the Chief Information Commissioner will be equivalent to Chief Election Officer and the judges of the Supreme Court.
“Have the CAG, Election Commissioner or Supreme Court judges ever complained that the salary will be equivalant to them or are they feeling insulted,” Singhvi demanded to know saying sinister designs were behind the amendment as the government wanted to fix age on its own.
He demanded the Amendment bill be referred to the Select Committee as the govenrment was bent to “cripple” the Act for reasons known to them.
Javed Ali Khan (SP) quoted former BJP senior leader Lal Krishna Advani as saying that BJP is totally against any move to dilute the Act.
Ram Chandra Prasad Singh (JDU) and K Keshava Rao (TRS) also spoke.
