Oppn members bat for scrutiny of human rights amendment bill

Opposition members in Rajya Sabha on Monday demanded that a bill for changes in human rights protection law to expedite appointments in NHRC and state rights bodies be sent to a parliamentary panel for scrutiny.

The MPs also claimed that they were not given enough time to move amendments.

Participating in the debate on Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2019, Congress MP Vivek K Tankha expressed apprehension that the proposed changes in law would empower the government to handpick members.

He suggested that human rights trackrecord of experts appointed on the commissions should also be checked.

Tankha said the government should have brought "functional amendments" in the existing law and not "cosmetic" ones.

He said if the bill was sent to select committee or standing committee of parliament, larger issues would have been addressed.

Elmaram Kareem (CPI-M) too made a case for sending the bill to a select committee of Rajya Sabha.

A similar demand was made K Ravindra Kumar (TDP).

The bill, passed by Lok Sabha last Friday, is aimed expediting the process of appointment of chairperson and members of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

Raising a point of order, Sukhendu Sekhar (TMC) said as per a rule (130), members should be given two working days to move amendments on a bill.

In the case of the current bill, the House was informed about the passage of the bill only after 5 pm on Friday, he said and asked if the Rule 130 has been "disposed of".

Leader of the Opposition and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad also raised objection on the "procedure" being followed on the bill.

He said the House was informed about the bill on Friday and after that there two holidays.

The senior Congress leader said several members want to move amendments and it is their right.

"Members of Parliament should be given time to move amendments," he added.

Bhupinder Yadav (BJP) said that it was decided that amendments could be moved till 12 noon and a member also moved one, which was circulated.

However, protest by members continued.

Earlier in the day, the House was adjourned twice as opposition members trooped into the Well and raised slogans highlighting various issues like political crisis in Karnataka, killings in Sonbhadra district of UP and mob lynching in Bihar.

When the House met at 3 pm, the opposition members including those from TMC and AAP resumed their protests