Private member's bill
Topic: Parliamentary Procedure, Committees and Privileges · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 6 "The Parliamentary System: Legislature and Executive"; Class 11, Ch 5 "Legislature"
Meaning
A private member's bill is a bill (a draft law) introduced by an MP who is not a minister. The member must give a month's notice. Such bills are taken up on Friday afternoons. They rarely pass without government support. Only 14 have ever become law, and none since 1970. Even so, they let ordinary MPs draw attention to issues and push the government to act.
Example
In 2015, the Rajya Sabha passed Tiruchi Siva's private member's bill on transgender rights, but the Lok Sabha never took it up. In the 17th Lok Sabha, 729 private members' bills were introduced and only two were discussed.
Don't confuse with
- Government bill: a minister introduces it after the Cabinet approves it, and most laws start this way.
- Opposition MP's bill: any MP who is not a minister can introduce a private member's bill, including members of the ruling party. The bill is "private" because the mover is not a minister, not because the mover is in the opposition.