Parliament Special Session: Bill To Appoint Top Election Officials Dropped After Oppn Push Back

Parliament Session: The bill to form a panel for the appointment of the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners has been dropped from the list of legislative business.

Parliament Special Session: The bill to form a panel for the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners has been dropped from the list of legislative business after the opposition resisted the bill. The list includes The Advocates (Amendment) Bill 2023, The Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill 2023, The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill 2019, The Repealing and Amending Bill 2023, The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill 2019, The Post Office Bill 2023, The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill 2023 and The Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order (Amendment) Bill 2023.

Earlier, the Centre proposed to introduce The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023 to replace the Chief Justice of India from the appointment panel with a cabinet minister. The bill seeks the formation of a three-member committee to appoint the CEC and other election commissioners consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition and a cabinet minister.

Congress and many other opposition parties said they would oppose the said Bill in the Lok Sabha. However, the Bill has now been removed from the list of businesses.

On the other hand, PM Narendra Modi on Monday addressed the Lok Sabha on the first day of the special parliament session and last at the old building. He recalled various events that were witnessed by the leaders here in the last 75 years. Remembering former PM Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru and Atal Bihari Vajpayee's historic speeches. 

PM Modi praised the success of the Chandryaan-3 mission and the G20 summit during his address. He also said that the moment of farewell from the old building is emotional for "all of us". The five-day 'Amrit Kaal' session will run from Sept 18-22. Notably, the sitting has been called ahead of the assembly elections in five states slated for later this year.