Most of the private member bills fail to get any traction and only a handful of them have become laws with Muslim Wakf Bill becoming the first private member legislation to be passed in 1952
On Friday, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) lawmaker Mohamed Abdulla moved a private member resolution demanding the scrapping of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admissions to medical courses and the National Testing Agency (NTA) that conducts them. He claimed injustice was being meted out to domiciled students of states and that NEET and NTA were an infringement upon the autonomy of state governments in the field of medical education.
A private member or a lawmaker who is not a minister can bring a resolution or a bill. (HT PHOTO)
Health minister JP Nadda opposed the resolution claiming that NEET “ended the business hub” in medical education and students from diverse backgrounds can aspire to be doctors now. Parties such as the Congress and Communist Party India (Marxist) or CPI(M) backed the resolution even as the chances of its passage remained slim. Here is all you need to know about private member bills and resolutions:
What are private member resolutions and bills?
A private member or a lawmaker who is not a minister can bring a resolution or a bill like the government. A resolution, which the Chair can also move to address a key issue, underlines the importance of a subject. It is a way of attracting the attention of the House and the government to that subject.
If a resolution is passed, is it binding on the government?
On Friday, the DMK’s resolution against NEET and NTA got support from Congress and other Opposition parties. If the resolution is passed, it would reflect the sense of the House and is not binding on the government.
How do private bills work?
A private member can bring bills on subjects including constitutional amendments. Every Friday afternoon when the House is in session is allotted for lawmakers for private bills.
Is it possible to pass private bills?
Most of the private member bills fail to get any traction. Only a handful of such bills have become laws. Muslim Wakf Bill was the first private member legislation to be passed in Parliament in 1952. The Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Bill, 1968, was the last private member legislation that became a law in 1970. In 2015, a private member bill for the protection of transgender rights was passed in one of the two Houses of Parliament.
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