NEW DELHI: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh Monday said the introduction of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill was strongly objected to by the Opposition in Rajya Sabha and hoped the consultative process is followed after it is sent to the Standing Committee.
The contentious Electricity Amendment Bill, 2022, aimed at giving multiple players open access to distribution networks of power suppliers and also allowing consumers to choose any service provider was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday amid protests by the opposition.
While the opposition MPs claimed the bill seeks to take away certain rights of state governments, two chief ministers-- Bhagwant Mann of Punjab and Arvind Kejriwal of Delhi, both from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), termed the measure "dangerous" and felt it will increase people's suffering and benefit only a few companies.
But the Centre said the bill is "pro-people" and "pro-farmer".
Taking to Twitter, Ramesh said, "Opposition protested the very introduction of the highly contentious Electricity(Amendment) Bill, 2022, that has been objected to by many states and farmers. At least the Bill has found its way to the Standing Committee concerned. Hopefully, it will follow a consultative process."
About the Wildlife (Amendment) Bill, he said the Lok Sabha has incorporated 1.5 of the four big changes suggested by the Standing Committee and noted that "there is still time to save state wildlife boards from being mere rubber stamps".
"The Wildlife (Amendment) Bill, 2021 passed in the Lok Sabha has incorporated 1.5 of the four big changes suggested by the Standing Committee. But the Rajya Sabha will now consider the Bill only in November. There's still time to save State Boards for Wildlife from being rubber stamps," Ramesh said.