India’s parliament passed the remaining few bills on its agenda in the absence of most opposition lawmakers, who were suspended earlier this week for disrupting proceedings.
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Lawmakers mainly from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party approved a bill on Thursday giving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government more control in selecting the chief election commissioner — months before a national vote.
The Chief Election Commissioners bill, which was passed by the lower house of the parliament, will give the government an advantage of a 2:1 vote on the appointment of the head of the commission and other top officials. The bill allows for the creation of a committee made up of the prime minister, the leader of the opposition and a cabinet minister, who is also nominated by the prime minister, to select the officials.
The upper house of parliament, or Rajya Sabha, also cleared three key bills, which will overhaul the existing criminal justice system in the country. The bills were passed Wednesday by the lower house, which adjourned indefinitely Thursday — a day before its winter session ends.
The telecommunications bill was also passed by the upper house. It seeks to create a comprehensive code to govern the sector, although critics say it may infringe on the privacy rights of citizens by giving the government power to intercept electronic communications.
A record number of opposition lawmakers were suspended from the parliament this week after calling on the government to address a recent security breach in the lower house.
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