The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed three Bills in about one hour, while the Opposition continued its protest against the government on the Pegasus spyware issue and demanded the repeal of the three farm laws.
The Bills were introduced, discussed and passed amid din. The House was also adjourned for 15 minutes in that time. Asked to speak on the Bills, many of the Opposition MPs chose to raise the issues they have been protesting over, leading to the chair cutting them short.
The Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Bill 2021, which seeks to encourage the start-up ecosystem and further boost ease of doing business, was cleared. The Bill was passed in 20 minutes with neither the speeches of the members nor the reply by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman clearly audible. Demands for a division were ignored as Deputy Chairman Harivansh said the House was not in order.
Sujeet Kumar (BJD), Kanakmadela Ravindra Kumar (TDP) and M. Thambidurai (AIADMK) spoke briefly in support of the Bill. JD(U) MP Ramnath Thakur too supported it but he did not speak. The Minister said it is a very timely Bill and will bring positivity in the LLP eco-system.
She said it will lead to ease of doing business. The Opposition members who spoke on the Bill, including CPI(M)’s John Brittas and AAP’s Sushil Kumar Gupta, utilised the opportunity to raise issues of farmers’ agitation and the Pegasus cyberattack. Mr. Gupta said, “This Bill has been brought without any thought, just like the government brought the three farm laws.”
The Rajya Sabha also passed the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 after a brief discussion, amid disruptions from the Opposition. B. Lingaiah Yadav (TRS) welcomed the Bill, which Ms. Sitharaman said was in the interest of small depositors. She said the insurance amount had been increased from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh and that by not cooperating in the discussion, the Opposition MPs were denying the depositors this insurance.
The House also passed the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which would change the definition of “major airport” and allow the government to club together smaller airports. Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said the Bill would include airports in smaller cities. K. Suresh Reddy (TRS) said while he supported the Bill, he had apprehensions over the criteria for clubbing airports together. Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, CPI(M), said the Bill was brought with the intention of “selling out” the country.
