Lok Sabha passes Competition Amendment Bill without debate amid disruptions

As Parliament remains paralysed, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut meets with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to iron out differences over the Savarkar remark

Published - March 29, 2023 09:43 pm IST - New Delhi

Opposition MPs wearing black attires stage a protest in the well of Lok Sabha demanding a JPC inquiry into the Adani Group issue during the second phase of the Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on March 29, 2023.

Opposition MPs wearing black attires stage a protest in the well of Lok Sabha demanding a JPC inquiry into the Adani Group issue during the second phase of the Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on March 29, 2023. | Photo Credit: ANI

Amid disruptions and sloganeering, the Lok Sabha on March 29 passed an amendment to the Competition Act and introduced the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill and then referred it to a joint select committee.

Parliament would now meet on Monday as the sitting on Friday was called off since Thursday was a holiday on account of Ram Navami.

In the morning, the Lok Sabha was adjourned within minutes as Opposition members, wearing black dresses, rushed into the Well of the House soon after proceedings started at 11 a.m. Biju Janata Dal (BJD) member Bhartruhari Mahtab who was in the Chair adjourned the House until noon.

When the House reassembled, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman moved the Competition (Amendment) 2022 Bill for passage amid intense sloganeering by Opposition members over the Adani issue.

The Bill, that provides for the Competition Commission of India to impose penalties on entities based on their global turnover instead of considering only relevant market turnover that is followed right now, was passed without a debate.

Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav then introduced the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, amid slogan shouting and then referred it to a joint select committee before the House was adjourned for the day. The land seeks to exempt certain categories of lands categories of lands to “fast-track strategic and security-related projects of national importance”.

The Rajya Sabha in the morning adjourned within five minutes, without taking any business. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar informed the House that he received eight notices under Rule 267 but could not reveal details amid din.

In the afternoon, the Upper House met amid Opposition members’ protests inside the House demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the Adani stock controversy.

Amid the din, Mr. Dhankhar invited Mr. Yadav to move a motion for nomination to the Joint Committee on the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill. Opposition members were heard protesting asking the Chairman who demanded the constitution of such a panel. As the disruptions continued, Mr. Dhankhar adjourned the House till Monday.

While the House remained paralysed because of the joint strategy by Opposition parties, Rajya Sabha member and Shiv Sena leader of the Uddhav Thackeray faction, Sanjay Raut, met Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi at the Congress Parliamentary Party office in Parliament to discuss the fallout of Mr. Gandhi’s remark on Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. “We have placed our views and I think we will respect each other sentiments,” Mr. Raut told reporters after the meeting.

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