Topics Covered:
- Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.
Private member’s Bill
What to study?
- Static Part: Private Member’s Bill- introduction and procedure followed.
- Dynamic and Current: Issues associated and why are they not taken into account seriously.
Context: A BJP lawmaker from Karnataka has said he will move a Private Members’ Bill during the winter session of parliament to facilitate the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya.
Who is a Private Member? Any MP who is not a Minister is referred to as a private member.
What are Government Bills?
Bills introduced by Ministers are referred to as government bills.
They are backed by the government, and reflect its legislative agenda. Private member’s bills purpose is to draw the government’s attention to what individual MPs see as issues and gaps in the existing legal framework, which require legislative intervention.
Introduction in the House:
The admissibility of a private member’s Bill is decided by the Rajya Sabha Chairman. In the case of Lok Sabha, it is the Speaker; the procedure is roughly the same for both Houses.
The Member must give at least a month’s notice before the Bill can be listed for introduction; the House secretariat examines it for compliance with constitutional provisions and rules on legislation before listing.
Up to 1997, private members could introduce up to three Bills in a week. This led to a piling up of Bills that were introduced but never discussed; Chairman K R Narayanan, therefore, capped the number of private member’s Bills to three per session.
While government Bills can be introduced and discussed on any day, private member’s Bills can be introduced and discussed only on Fridays.
Fourteen private member’s Bills — five of which were introduced in Rajya Sabha — have become law so far.
Sources: prsindia.
Mains Question: “The concept of private members’ bill is central to a deliberative democracy.” Discuss in the Indian context.
