UPA passed 18 bills amid ruckus, Modi 2.0 on same track

By Rajnish Singh

New Delhi, March 6 (SocialNews.XYZ) The NDA government is evidently following on the footsteps of its major opposition Congress, having passed three major Bills amid ruckus in the Lok Sabha in the last five days during the ongoing second phase of the Budget session.

The Vivad se Vishwas Bill, 2020, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019, and Minerals Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020 were passed without discussion amid sloganeering by opposition members.

Vivad se Vishwas Bill, 2020 was passed on Wednesday while the other two Bills were passed on Friday amid uproar by opposition members who demanded a discussion on the Delhi violence and over suspension of seven Congress members on Thursday.

As the opposition criticised the way the NDA government adopted to pass these Bills, sources in treasury benches told IANS that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh passed 18 Bills in the Lok Sabha between 2006 and 2014 amid interruptions.

The source, requesting anonymity, said that two of the Bills were passed in 2006, 11 in 2007, three in 2010; one in 2011 and one in 2014.

Of them, two each were passed in only one minute, three each in two minutes, four each in three minutes, four each in four minutes, two each in five minutes, one in 12 minutes, one in 14 minutes, and one in one hour 28 minutes.

These Bills were passed in all the three sessions-- Winter, Budget and Monsoon -- of Parliament amid interruptions by the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies who were in opppsition that time.

On March 22, 2006, the Lok Sabha passed the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2006 in only three minutes amid ruckus. On August 7, 2006, the lower House also passed the Government Securities Bill, 2004 in just 14 minutes.

Of the 11 Bills passed in 2007 during pandemonium, five were passed in 19 minutes on different dates in March during the Budget session, four in May in 13 minutes during the Monsoon session, and two in September in only five minutes. Three of those Bills were passed on March 19, 2007 in 10 minutes, two on March 16, 2007 in nine minutes, and three on May 14, 2007 in nine minutes.

The Bills included the National Institution of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2007 (in four minutes on March 16), the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2007 (in five minutes on March 16), the National Tax Tribunal (Amendment) Bill, 2007 (in five minutes on March 19), the National Rural Employment Guarantee (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Bill, 2007 (in three minutes on March 19), the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2007 (in two minutes on March 19).

The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2006, the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Bill, 2006, and the National Institution of Technology Bill, 2007 were passed on May 14, 2007 in four, three and two minutes, respectively.

On May 16, 2007, the Lok Sabha passed the Central Road Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2006 in only four minutes amid ruckus in the house. The Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2007 and the Apprentices (Amendment) Bill, 2007 were passed by the lower House on September 6 and 7 in four and one minutes, respectively.

Then UPA government managed to pass three Bills on May 3, 2010 in the Lok Sabha in only 16 minutes -- the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill, 2010 (one minute); the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2010 (three minutes); and the Employees State Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2010 (12 minutes).

The Lok Sabha on March 18, 2011 passed the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provison) Bill, 2011 in only two minutes and the Andhra Pradesh (Reorganisation) Bill, 2014 on February 18, 2014 in one hour and 28 minutes.

(Rajnish Singh can be contacted at rajnish.s@ians.in)

Source: IANS