Om Birla (File photo)
NEW DELHI: There will be no further extension of time granted to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 to submit its report, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has said.
This, even though 5 of the 30 member JPC, including its chairperson Meenakshi Lekhi, have been elevated as ministers in the recent reshuffle of the Union cabinet. According to parliamentary procedures, ministers cannot be part of parliamentary committees.
The Speaker’s comments are significant because it means that the passage of the Personal Data Protection bill may not be delayed inordinately.
“When the chairperson has taken charge as minister, she cannot remain chairperson of the committee. The work she has done was already at an advanced stage. Very little work remains to be done. We will request that the report is tabled in parliament soon. There is no scope for granting them any extension of time now,” Birla said.