MPs stalling pending bills: Social activists

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Social activists Friday blamed parliamentarians for deliberately not passing the pending bills by continuously disrupting parliament and not allowing it to function.

With six days left for the current session, crucial bills such as the grievance redress bill, the street vendors bill and the disability rights bill are yet to be passed.

"The persistent disruption of the parliament is not acceptable. Every time we meet the political leaders, we are left with assurances of making best efforts to pass the bills in the parliament," social activist Aruna Roy said at a media briefing here.

"But we want to know why the same leaders do not allow the parliament to function and discuss the bill.

"The fear is that if the bills were not passed in the current session, they will get lapsed," Roy added.

Convener of disabled rights group Javed Abidi said though the parliamentarians knew that the Telangana bill is a controversial one and will take time to be passed, why were the other bills not introduced and passed before it.

"Every time we have met the opposition leaders, we are assured that they will make best efforts to pass the bill, but I want to know that despite the disability rights bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha, why are the opposition leaders disrupting the house and not allowing the bill to be debated," Abidi said.

He said the way the opposition leaders were not allowing the house to function clearly shows that they deliberately do not want the bill to get clearance.

Members of the street vendors community have threatened that if the street vendors bill was not passed till Monday, more than 500 community members will go on indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar.

"We do not want any more assurances, we want the street vendors bill to be passed in this session of the parliament.

"...If not done till Monday, more than 500 members from the street vendor community will stage an indefinite hunger strike making the parliamentarians bound to pass the bill," social activist Nikhil Dey said.

He said the parliamentarians should tender their resignation if they were not able to take up the issues of people in the parliament.