Lok Sabha passes IBC (Amendment) Bill without discussion amid Opposition uproar

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2021 without discussion amid sloganeering by the Opposition members.

As the House reassembled at 2.30 pm, BJD member Bhartruhari Mahtab, who was in the chair, announced that the bill will be taken up for consideration. Mahtab called the names of 20 Opposition members who had given notices for a statutory resolution seeking disapproval of the bill in the House. However, the Opposition members did not respond as they were in the well of the House. Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Rao Inderjit Singh, who piloted the bill, requested the House to consider the bill. Later, the House passed the bill without discussion.

Soon after the passing of the bill, Mahtab adjourned the House till 3.00 pm.

Earlier in the day, soon after the house reassembled at 2 pm, the opposition members started raising slogans. They came in the well and continued sloganeering. Only four members could raise their issues as the House functioned for barely 10 minutes. BJP member Rajendra Agrawal, who was in the chair, asked the Opposition members to go back to their seats. However, the Opposition members continued sloganeering, forcing Agrawal to adjourn the house till 2:30 pm.

Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had introduced the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment Bill), 2021 in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The Bill is set to replace the IBC Amendment Ordinance 2021 promulgated in April which introduced pre-packs as an insolvency resolution mechanism for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with defaults up to Rs 1 crore.