Proceedings during Budget Session ‘satisfactory’: Naqvi

New Delhi: Expressing hope that the Aadhar Bill would be returned to the Lok Sabha after discussions in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Wednesday said that the proceedings in the Parliament during the first half of the Budget Session were ‘satisfactory’.

“There is a transparent process and plan to ensure that the benefit of government schemes reach the people. There will be discussion in Rajya Sabha and then we hope that the bill would be returned to the Lok Sabha. Since, it is a money bill, it has to be returned and cannot be passed,” Naqvi told ANI.

“There are several bills that have been passed and there are several other issues as well that need to be discussed. So, all in all it was satisfactory,” he added.

The Aadhar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill 2016 was passed in the Lok Sabha on Friday after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley moved the key bill for consideration.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, had objected to the bill being introduced as a money bill, saying the Congress is ready to cooperate on the bill, but it should not come as a money bill.

In response, Jaitley said the bill is substantially different from what the Opposition is talking about.

He said the substance of the bill is that whoever gets subsidies will have to produce Aadhaar.

The bill is aimed at giving statutory backing for transferring government subsidies and benefits to targeted people.

It also lays down a regulatory framework to protect core biometric information of Aadhaar cardholders from any unauthorised disclosure or sharing.

The bill is the key to the government’s plan to plug leakages in disbursal of subsidies and other services and in ensuring that these reach intended beneficiaries.

The bill seeks to provide for good governance, efficient, transparent, and targeted delivery of subsidies, benefits and services, the expenditure for which is incurred from the Consolidated Fund of India to individuals residing in India through assigning of unique identity numbers. (ANI)