Article Title: Reviving a far sighted but forgotten bill mechanism
03-05-2025
Polity & Governance Current Affairs Analysis
Context
• Private Member’s Bills (PMBs) are a mechanism through which Members of Parliament (MP), who are not Ministers, can propose their own legislation.
• In India’s parliamentary system, most laws are introduced by the government, drafted by Ministries and tabled by Ministers.
• In contrast, PMBs come from individual MPs, both ruling party or the Opposition.
• In each session, Fridays are usually reserved for discussion on PMBs.
• PMBs are perhaps the last remaining intervention wherein MPs are not strictly guided by party mandate.
• Since Independence, only 14 PMBs have been passed and received presidential assent and none has cleared both Houses since 1970.
• In the 17th Lok Sabha (2019-24), 729 PMBs were introduced in the Lok Sabha and 705 in the Rajya Sabha. However, only two in the Lok Sabha and 14 in the Rajya Sabha were ever discussed.
• In the 18th Lok Sabha, only 20 MPs have introduced PMBs so far. During the inaugural and Budget Sessions of 2024, 64 PMBs were introduced in the Lok Sabha, but not a single one was discussed.
• The 52nd Constitutional Amendment, which introduced the Anti-Defection Law through the Tenth Schedule, aimed to ensure political stability. However, it has also had the unintended effect of limiting the ability of MPs to independently question or deviate from their party’s legislative agenda.
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