RS should have greater say in redrawing state boundaries: Manmohan Singh

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said as a council of states, the Rajya Sabha should have a greater say in legislations dealing with redrawing boundaries of states.

However, he did not name Jammu and Kashmir, which was recently bifurcated into Union territories.

Participating in the discussion on the "Role of Rajya Sabha in Indian Polity and Need for Reform" on the first day of the 250th session of the House, Singh said, "...on some matters, this House should be given greater respect by the executive, that is not the case now."
On the issue of scrutiny of bills by parliamentary committees, Singh said, "For our chamber (Rajya Sabha) to fully function, it is required that we scrutinise the bills more thoroughly in (parliamentary) committees, where not only the members can apply their mind, even the opinion of stakeholders can be solicited."
The Rajya Sabha committees had done a commendable job of improving legislations, he said, adding, "I would urge that we should follow this practice for all the bills which come before this august House."
On the misuse of the provisions of money bills, Singh said, "Article 110 allows precedence of Lok Sabha over the matters in money bills. In the recent past, we have seen instances of misuse of money bills' provisions by the executive, leading to bypassing the Rajya Sabha."
Stating that Parliament was not a legislative but deliberative body, the former prime minister said, "So far as deliberative functions are concerned, it is open to us to make valuable contributions. We should do everything to justify to the public of our country that a second chamber (Rajya Sabha) is necessary to prevent hasty legislation. It is our duty to ensure that no law is passed in haste and in an atmosphere of heightened emotions."