New bill seeking mandatory disclosure of foreign travel details by MPs moved in RS

Narasimha Rao, the BJP lawmaker in Rajya Sabha on Friday moved a Private Member's Bill in the House seeking to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1951, in order to make it compulsory for the MPs to disclose the details of their foreign travel through the year, and give details on hospitality or monetary help, taken by them on such visits.

A circular was sent by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister to all MPs earlier in July in this regard. The legislation, titled 'The Representation Of The People (Amendment) Bill, 2019' seeks to make the disclosures "mandatory" for all the MPs. "The members are advised by the secretariat of both Houses of Parliament to send information of their visits abroad, stating the purpose and the itineraries, to the respective Secretary-General at least 3 weeks in advance so that the Ministry of External Affairs and the concerned Indian Mission/Post can be informed of the same," the bill read.

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"Members traveling abroad in their personal capacity are also advised to furnish some information on such foreign travels to never in the absence of a statutory requirement, this advisory has not been adhered to by most Members of Parliament," it read.
"Therefore the bill seeks to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1951, to make it mandatory for Members of Parliament to disclose the details of their travel documents in their possession and the foreign travels undertaken by them along with details like countries and places visited, duration of travel, expenses incurred, sources of funding, foreign hospitality received, if any, etc," the bill added. 

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Nine bills to be taken up in LS

The Citizenship Amendment Bill and the Personal Data Protection Bill are among the nine bills, which are expected to be taken up for passage in the Lok Sabha in the last week of the Winter Session of Parliament beginning from Monday. The Citizenship Amendment Bill is listed for introduction and passage in the House on Monday, December 9.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal told the Lok Sabha on Friday said that the bills for introduction, consideration and passing include The Anti Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019, The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, The Code on Social Security Bill, 2019, The Central Sanskrit University Bill, 2019, The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2019, and The Constitution (One Twenty-Sixth Amendment) Bill, 2019.

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(With ANI inputs)