Chairman of the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Personal Data Protection Bill and senior BJP MP P.P. Chaudhary welcomed the Centre’s decision to withdraw the Bill from Parliament on Wednesday. He hoped that the fresh Bill would incorporate all the amendments and recommendations of the panel. The committee worked very hard to prepare the recommendations. “All the recommendations are valuable for the Bill and for the government,” he said.
Talking to The Hindu, Mr. Chaudhary said initially Justice Srikrishna committee recommended a draft Bill and a group of secretaries looked at it and referred it to the Union Cabinet. “After the Cabinet clearance, it was introduced in the Lok Sabha. There are about 100 clauses in the Bill. The committee held 77 meetings and considered the Bill clause by clause. We made about 93 recommendations and suggested about 100 amendments,” Mr. Chaudhary said. The panel had tabled its report in both the Houses on December 16, 2021.
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He said it was very difficult for the government to introduce the Bill with so many amendments. “The original Bill had about 100 clauses and we suggested amendments to almost every clause. If the government wants to bring a composite Bill by including all our amendments, then all those amendments should be introduced on the floor of the House. It may not sound well to deliberate and discuss all these amendments on the floor of the House. So I think the government has taken a perfect and right decision by withdrawing the Bill and bringing a fresh Bill by incorporating all the recommendations of the committee in the new Bill. It will be a proper Bill,” he said.
When asked for his view on the chances to accommodate the recommended amendments in the fresh Bill, the former Minister said he was hopeful that the government would take into consideration and incorporate all the recommendations of the committee. “I am also hopeful that the fresh Bill may be introduced in the Monsoon Session of Parliament for discussion and passage. The government is very conscious about this. After the Supreme Court verdict, privacy is a fundamental right. The court had directed the Centre to bring a legislation to protect the personal data and privacy,” he added.
