Opposition gears up for fight on electoral reforms bill in Rajya Sabha

The Opposition is gearing up for a fight on the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday and force the government to send it to a Parliamentary panel, even as the ruling side decided to rush through the proposed law in Lok Sabha by ignoring an earlier agreement to send it to the Standing Committee for further scrutiny.

Congress issued a three-line whip to its MPs asking them to be present throughout Tuesday and support the party-line inside the House while CPI(M) issued a statement asking the Opposition parties to “resolutely resist” the Bill from being “bulldozed” in the Upper House and ensure that it undergoes Parliamentary scrutiny.

Sources said that the government had earlier intimated to the Opposition that it was sending the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 to the Standing Committee and listed only its introduction in the House.

Also Read | Lok Sabha passes electoral reforms bill amid din

However, the government changed its mind later in the day and issued a supplementary list of businesses and got the Bill passed amid Opposition protests. Congress Lok Sabha Whip Manickam Tagore tweeted, “12.15 pm introduction of #ElectionLaws and at 2.45 PM passed without discussion. No time was given to move amendments by the opposition MPs. Another democratic right is taken away by the government. Sad day for Parliamentary democracy. Whatever new building you build, don't demolish rights.”

With the government listing the Bill in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Congress has issued the whip. Party’s Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh wrote as a postscript to the three-line whip, “quite a few MPs do not follow this whip...Party matters must get precedence.”

In a statement, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau strongly condemned the manner in which “important changes in the electoral laws, which have far-reaching consequences, have been rushed through the Lok Sabha and passed in a din”.

MPs were “not given time for discussion. Most importantly, MPs were not allowed to move any amendments, which is a gross violation of parliamentary norms and procedures. In the morning, the discussion was for sending it to a Parliamentary…Committee for a thorough examination. Abandoning this decision, the government issued a supplementary agenda post-lunch and rushed through the Bill”, it said.

The CPI(M) warned that the Bill has the danger of violating both secrecy of the vote undermining the principle of the secret ballot and the fundamental right to privacy of the voter. “The opposition parties must resolutely resist this Bill from being bulldozed in the Rajya Sabha now and demand its thorough examination by a Select Committee,” it said.