The Congress on Tuesday accused the Narendra Modi-led government of following a pattern of referring important Bills to Joint Parliamentary Committees headed by BJP members instead of Parliamentary Standing Committees led by opposition lawmakers. The party demanded that the Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026, be sent to the relevant Parliamentary Standing Committee for detailed examination and wider consultation.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that the government had reduced the role of Parliamentary Standing Committees in the legislative process. Citing data from the 2019-2024 period, he claimed that only 16 per cent of Bills were referred to committees chaired by opposition parliamentarians. He contrasted this with the period between 2009 and 2014, when he said 71 per cent of Bills were examined by Parliamentary Standing Committees during the previous United Progressive Alliance government.

Ramesh alleged that the government had repeatedly chosen Joint Committees headed by BJP MPs when Standing Committees were led by opposition members. He cited examples involving legislation related to biodiversity protection and forest conservation, as well as the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025. According to him, the education-related Bill was not sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, which was earlier headed by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, but was instead referred to a Joint Committee led by a BJP MP.

Also Read: BJP Alleges Mockery Of Sanatan Culture, Seeks Case Against Leaders

The Congress leader said earlier governments had also referred major legislation to committees chaired by opposition members. He pointed to laws such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, which he said were examined by committees headed by BJP leaders during the tenure of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Opposition parties in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have demanded that the Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026, be referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance for scrutiny. Ramesh said the move would allow wider consultations and a detailed review of the proposed changes before the legislation is passed.

The Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026, seeks to replace the existing 1959 Act while retaining the institute’s status as an Institution of National Importance. The proposed legislation aims to change the governance structure of ISI, which is currently registered as a society under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961. The Bill proposes making ISI a not-for-profit body corporate with a focus on strengthening research, academic excellence and its role in statistics and related fields.

Also Read: BJP Compares Indira Gandhi's Emergency With PM Modi's Approach Towards Students