Kerala government passes two bills in Assembly without subject committee review

By Aishwarya Nair | First Published Jun 11, 2024, 10:13 AM IST

The bills related to the ward delimitation of local governing bodies were passed in the Kerala Assembly without being referred to the subject committee and without any discussion on the floor.

Thiruvananthapuram: The state government on Monday (June 10) hurriedly passed two bills- the Kerala Municipality (Second Amendment) Bill and the Kerala Panchayat Raj (Second Amendment) bill, presented in connection with the delimitation of wards of local governing bodies, without adhering to the required procedures for referring them to the assembly's subject committee or select committee.

The Speaker considered the bills while the Opposition MLAs began protesting over liquor policy demanding a probe into bribery allegations. The bills were passed amidst the uproar of the opposition MLAs and without a discussion.

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Although it is customary to refer bills to the subject committee for consideration in such circumstances, the government took an unusual step by suspending rules 76, 77, and 237 of the legislative assembly procedures and passed the bills.

According to Rule 76, when a bill (other than an appropriation bill) is introduced, the member-in-charge may make one of these motions: refer it to the appropriate subject committee, refer it to a select committee, or circulate it to elicit opinions. Rule 237 states that the subject committee has the authority to make appropriate changes to the bill referred to it or register the dissent of committee members, which will be sent along with the bill for the assembly’s consideration.

The bill presented by LSGD Minister MB Rajesh was passed within minutes of its presentation, while opposition MLAs were shouting slogans near the Speaker's dais. VD Satheesan, the Leader of the Opposition, has submitted a letter of protest to Speaker AN Shamseer.

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