Only one in four Bills by Modi government going in for public consultation: Derek O’Brien

O’Brien wanted the government to ensure that the Bills that are circulated for comments adhere to the 30-day time limit provided in the policy

With only one in four Bills introduced by the Narendra Modi government going in for public consultation, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O’Brien has demanded that the exercise be made compulsory all central ministries.

He said there is no official database on Bills put up for public consultation but an independent research showed that only 74 out of 301 Bills introduced in Parliament were circulated for consultation between 2014-21. Of these 74 Bills, he said at least 40 were not circulated for 30 days.

According to the Pre-legislative Consultation Policy adopted in 2014, all Bills have to be sent in for public consultation for a period of 30 days.

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However, O’Brien said in a Special Mention in Rajya Sabha on Friday, the policy has failed to achieve its objective.

“The 2014 Policy stated that the Manual for Parliamentary Procedures, and the instructions on writing Cabinet Note would be modified to enable public consultation. This has not been done,” he said.

Demanding that there is an immediate need to take steps to strengthen the 2014 policy, O’Brien said the Ministry of Law and Justice should create a public dashboard reflecting the Bills that have been put up for public consultation and the details of such consultations such as dates, links to draft Bills, etc.

“Each Minister while introducing a Bill should lay a copy of the summary of public consultations in the Parliament. If the Bill has not been circulated for comment, the Minister should lay a reason for it,” he said.

He also wanted the government to ensure that the Bills that are circulated for comments adhere to the 30-day time limit provided in the policy.

“To make public consultation binding on all Ministries, the Manual for Parliamentary Procedures in the Government of India, and the instructions issued by the Cabinet Secretariat on writing Cabinet Notes should be modified to incorporate the procedures for public consultation,” he added.