New Delhi, Jul 27: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla gave the government and opposition parties a three-hour window to settle differences so that discussion on the paper leaks Amendment Bill could begin in the House.
He adjourned the House till 5 pm, minutes after it reconvened at 2 pm.
As soon as the House reassembled, Birla said six hours have been allocated to discuss The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill and added that more time can be given based on the sense of the House.
He said members are elected to the Lok Sabha to discuss Bills and not to raise slogans.
Since the Monsoon Session began on July 20, the opposition has been raking up the NEET paper leak issue due to which no legislative business could be taken up so far, except for the introduction of two Bills.
On Monday, two days after former education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned from his post, opposition demanded a response from the government on the alleged use of force on protesting students at Jantar Mantar here and other parts of the country.
The government has been reaching out to the opposition parties to end the stalemate so that the House can function smoothly.
The government on Monday introduced a Bill in the Lok Sabha to amend the anti-paper leaks law with stricter punishment of up to 10 years in jail and Rs 50 lakh fine, within days of large-scale student protests against the NEET fiasco rocking the nation.
The proposed legislation was introduced by Minister of State for PMO Jitendra Singh amid protests and sloganeering by the opposition demanding a response from the government over the police crackdown on students during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led July 20 protest march to Parliament. (PTI)
