Parliament Updates: The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019 proposes to give the Centre the power to set the tenure and salaries of state and central Information Commissioners. The opposition has protested that such a move could dilute the effectiveness of the RTI Act, thereby threatening the autonomy of the Information Commissions.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu announces to the House the successful launch of the Chandrayaan-2 and gets the house to congratulate ISRO scientists for the remarkable feat which, he said, has made the entire country proud. The Chairman further explained to the members that he had heard the grievances of the Opposition members and those who had to move an amendment motion have already done so, therefore, discussion on the human rights bill should proceed.

In Lok Sabha, the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019 is being discussed. The bill seeks to remove the fixed tenure of CICs and ICs. Currently, the tenure is fixed for five years. The bill also seeks to change the Central Information Commissioner’s salary which was ht same as the CEC and will allow the government to fix his salary.

Rajya Sabha is currently discussing the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill. However, the Opposition is disrupting the House by shouting slogans such as ‘Dalit virodhi ye sarkaar, nahin chelegi nahin chalegi‘ (This government is against he minorities, we won’t let it run).

The Deputy Chairman of the Upper House Harivansh Narayan Singh urged the protesting members to return to their seats however, a few members threw papers at his Chair, prompting him to stand up and appeal to the members to maintain the order of the House.

The Upper House was adjourned again as Opposition members raised slogans against the central government over the Sonbhadra incident and disrupted the proceedings of the Upper House during the Question Hour.

The Upper House was adjourned till noon following an uproar over the Karnataka crisis by several legislators. Meanwhile, the Lower House was adjourned till 2 pm as a mark of respect for late MP Ramchandra Paswan.

Six Congress MPs have given Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha over ‘Political leaders being prevented from meeting people in Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra’. This comes after Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was stopped from meeting the kin of those killed in the 17 July firing incident which killed 10 people.

The last five working days of the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha are going to be jam-packed with pending legislation as government plans to introduce 13 bills and take up the triple talaq ordinance amid speculation about extending the session that ends on 26 July to 2 August.

Union ministers are in touch with opposition parties to bring them on board for the extension. Though some opposition leaders said they are not in favour of such a proposal but the sources asserted that a decision on this session’s schedule is the prerogative of the ruling dispensation.

Last week, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan told the Rajya Sabha that the government planned to move 13 bills in the Lok Sabha, which will come to the Upper House. Other than these, there are pending ordinances such as the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance, 2019 that needed to be taken up. The Upper House also has to debate and pass the Union Budget, which was cleared by the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Opposition alleged that none of the legislations had passed the scrutiny of standing committees as the panels had not been formed yet. “Except the Motor Vehicles Bill, none of the Bills has been scrutinised,” Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek O’ Brien said.

The ongoing first session of the 17th Lok Sabha, which started on 17 June, has so far been the most productive in the last 20 years, with the Lower House registering 128 percent productivity till Tuesday, according to think tank PRS Legislative Research. The Lok Sabha has been working for more than its scheduled time and has sat till midnight on two occasions to complete its legislative business.

“This session, the Lok Sabha has been working for more than its scheduled time. Till 16 July, 2019, the Lok Sabha’s productivity is at 128 percent which is the highest for any session in the past 20 years,” the PRS Legislative Research said.

Similarly, the productivity of the Rajya Sabha, where the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led dispensation lacks a majority, unlike the Lok Sabha, is also relatively high. The productivity of the Upper House was 98 percent till Tuesday, according to the non-profit organisation.

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