Departments holding on to private members’ bills are in breach of privilege: Adv Carlos

Departments holding on to private members’ bills are in breach of privilege: Adv Carlos

PORVORIM: Aldona Congress MLA Adv Carlos Alvares Ferreira on Friday said that the departments that were delaying vetting private members’ bills moved by members of the opposition and others were in breach of privilege and demanded that Legislature Secretariat set up its own in-house committee to have these bills vetted and submitted to the Speaker.

Speaking amid Opposition’s protests which disrupted the House over the government’s failure to list private members bills on the designated date, Adv Ferreira said the government was afraid that if the bills are allowed for discussion they will get exposed.

“Why is the speaker’s secretariat dependent on the government? The speaker is neutral, the speaker is to be playing a neutral role as the guardian of the assembly. If these departments are holding these bills and not sending, according to me that’s a breach of privilege,” Adv Carlos said.

“You are holding and not allowing the speaker to make a decision on it. The secretariat of the legislature should itself have an in-house committee which should scrutinise and put it up before the speaker and not send it to the department because the government will not want,” he said adding that in several legislative assemblies and even in Parliament there is an in-house committee that vets private members bills and submits them to the Speaker for a decision.

“Ruling MLAs are also making the demand for scrapping 39A. Jit Arolkar has himself moved a private members bill,” he also said.

When we went to protest at Azad Maidan, the message was: ‘This is not the forum, you come to the house.’ They made us withdraw the protest and said they will discuss it here. Today we are ready, we are here for a discussion; right or wrong, we want to see who supports us, who opposes us?” he said.

“Why is the government not ready for a discussion on the floor of the house? Is the government scared it will get exposed? Will the government crack, will the government lose the majority because of this? Is this why they don’t want this to come up?” he sought to know.

He said he received a copy of the letter that the speaker sent to the various departments for vetting which had clearly stated that the bill has to be tabled on March 13, a deadline that the departments failed to honour.