Private member Bill seeks PM-led panel for selecting Chief Election Commissioner

Subject :Polity

Context:

A private member’s bill in Lok Sabha has been introduced, which seeks the formation of a high-level committee, in order to bring transparency to the functioning of political parties.

What is Private members’ Bill:

The Bills introduced by private members are referred to as Private Member’s Bills.
A member of parliament (MP) who is not a minister is a private member.

What is the procedure:

The MP who wants to move a Private Member’s Bill has to give at least a month’s notice, for the House Secretariat to examine it for compliance with constitutional provisions and rules on legislation.
In case of multiple Bills, a ballot system is used to decide the sequence of bills for introduction.
The Parliamentary Committee on Private Member’s Bills and Resolutions goes through all such Bills and classifies them based on their urgency and importance.
The drafting of the bill is the responsibility of the member concerned
The government bills can be introduced and discussed on any day, private member’s bills can be introduced and discussed only on Fridays.
Its rejection by the House has no implication on the parliamentary confidence in the government or its resignation.
Upon conclusion of the discussion, the member piloting the bill can either withdraw it on the request of the minister concerned, or he may choose to press ahead with its passage.
Up to 1997, private members could introduce up to three Bills in a week.This led to a piling up of Bills that were introduced but never discussed.
Therefore, the number of private member’s Bills was later capped to three per session.

What is the history of private member bills

No Private Member’s Bill has been passed by the Parliament since 1970.
The last private member bill which was passed was the Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Bill, 1968.
So far, the Parliament has passed 14 such Bills of which six of them in 1956.
Out of the 14 of the private member’s bills five of which were introduced in Rajya Sabha — have become law so far. Some other private member bills that have become laws include-
- Proceedings of Legislature (Protection of Publication) Bill, 1956, in the Lok Sabha;
- The Salaries and Allowances of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 1964, introduced by in the Lok Sabha and
- The Indian Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, 1967 introduced in the Rajya Sabha.
The 16th Lok Sabha (2014-19) witnessed the highest number of Private Member Bills introduced (999) since 2000.
As many as 142 members have introduced Bills in the 16th Lok Sabha, of which 34 members have introduced 10 or more Bills.