Lok Sabha passes amended Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill

New Delhi, Dec 17 (LAB) The Lok Sabha today passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, after approving all the amendments made by the Rajya Sabha.

The Bill had already been passed by the Lower House on August 5, 2019, and by the Rajya Sabha, with amendments, on December 8, 2021. Today the amended bill was passed. Today was the 15th day, the Parliament saw adjournments in both the Houses in less than an hour.

The Bill was passed amid continuous sloganeering by the Opposition over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, which had earlier caused the Lower House to adjourn after taking up only four questions in the Question Hour.

Smriti Irani, Minister of Women and Child Development who was answering a question at that time said that the vocal protests are causing a hindrance in the parliament. “I am blocked by some gentlemen who have placards in their hands. … if they truly believe in servicing the needs of poor women and children in our country, my request to them is to ensure that I speak for the women and children of this country,” Ms. Irani said. The protesting members belonged to the same party as the former Karnataka Speaker who had made an objectionable comment just a day before.

The questions on under-utilisation of funds allocated for POSHAN Abhiyaan, and digitization of notarial work were taken up in the Lok Sabha today.

Three Bills, namely, the National Anti-Doping Bill (2021), the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill (2021), and the Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill (2021) were also introduced in the lok Sabha.

Soon after tabling of listed papers in the Rajya Sabha, Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu adjourned the House for the day. He said, “We want to facilitate discussion” amongst Opposition and Government over the issue of 12 suspended MPs. He appealed to the members to arrive at some sort of consensus so that the House can function normally./ LAB/SNG/