Congress targets Centre after parliamentary panels defer reports on key Bills

The Congress criticised the Centre after two parliamentary committees deferred adoption of draft reports on proposed legislation. The party claimed the delays reflected disagreements over contentious bills ahead of the Monsoon Session, while the committees cited the need for wider consultations

New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday targeted the Narendra Modi government after two parliamentary committees deferred adoption of their draft reports on what it termed “controversial bills”, saying that the BJP’s “humiliation” over the defeat of the Constitution amendment bill involving delimitation continued to cast a long shadow.

The Congress’ reaction came after the Joint Committee on the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, cancelled a meeting scheduled for Monday to adopt its draft report on the proposed legislation.

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The bill proposes a massive overhaul of India’s higher education sector by dissolving the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) to create a single, unified regulatory commission.

This followed another development in which a joint committee reviewing 130th Amendment Bill proposing removal of the prime minister and chief ministers detained on serious charges deferred adoption of its draft report when voting was underway on its five recommendations.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “Just two days before the Monsoon session of Parliament begins, two JPCs on very controversial Bills, one of which requires Constitutional amendments and the other of which is a clear case of Constitutional over-reach, have put off adopting their reports.”

“The humiliation suffered by the Modi Govt in the Lok Sabha on April 17, 2026 clearly has cast a long shadow that persists in spite of the Union Home Minister’s bluff, brag, and bluster,” he added.

The joint committee examining the 130th Amendment Bill had circulated five recommendations on the draft report among its members recently.

The bill proposed automatic removal of the PM, CM and other union/state ministers if they are arrested and held in custody for 30 consecutive days for an offence punishable by five or more years of imprisonment.

But on Friday, the committee decided to hold off voting on these recommendations to allow wider consultations with stakeholders. AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi and NCP (Sharad Pawar) MP Supriya Sule had submitted their dissent notes but withdrew them after the panel decided to defer the adoption at the last minute.