Rajya Sabha passes Births and Deaths Amendment Bill amid uproar over Ram temple donation row and NEET leak

Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill amid uproar, with Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai saying the legislation is intended to ensure every child born is duly registered and all deaths are registered.

Rai said this would prevent “ghosts” from casting votes for parties that believe in appeasement. He also said the country now wants to get rid of ghosts and alleged that some state governments welcome those “who were not born in India” and register their births, which he said should not be allowed.

The bill, which had already been passed by Lok Sabha, seeks to tighten rules for delayed registration of births and deaths. It makes judicial magistrate approval mandatory for cases reported more than two years after the event.

The bill was passed without discussion and by voice vote as the opposition continued to disrupt proceedings over the NEET-UG paper leak and allegations of theft of donations at the Ram temple. The opposition also demanded the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah in the House.

Similar scenes were seen in Lok Sabha, which passed the Appropriation Bill without discussion, marking the fifth legislation approved by voice vote in the lower House during the monsoon session.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had introduced the Taxation and Other Laws Amendment Bill for passage, but it was deferred after the House was adjourned for the day following passage of the Appropriation Bill. The Appropriation Bill seeks authorization of appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated Fund of India to cover amounts spent on certain services during the financial year ended March 31, 2023, in excess of the amounts granted.

The monsoon session has been repeatedly disrupted since it began, with both Houses adjourning often except for a discussion on the bill that makes punishment in paper leak cases more stringent.

Rajya Sabha also saw an uproar over the Ram temple donation issue, with the government and opposition exchanging angry words. When Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge asked why agencies such as ED, CBI and I-T were not probing the alleged theft by members of Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju alleged that Congress and Samajwadi Party had always “abused Lord Ram” and opposed Ram Temple construction.