Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022, amid a ruckus in the House with opposition MPs continuing their protest over the Adani issue.
As MPs re-assembled after the adjournment in the morning, opposition members rushed to the Well of the House and raised slogans demanding a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the Adani issue.
Some papers as well as reports were laid on the table of the House amid the din. Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav then introduced the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023. Amid the loud sloganeering by opposition members, the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022, was taken up for consideration and passed without a debate.
One of the changes is with respect to the turnover that will be considered for the imposition of a penalty in case of competition law violations. Another amendment is that the CCI has to form a prima facie opinion about a filing related to a combination within 30 days of receiving the filing.
Currently, the regulator can form a prima facie opinion within 30 working days of receiving a combination filing. In competition law parlance, combinations refer to mergers and acquisitions, and deals beyond a certain threshold require the approval of CCI.
As the opposition members, several of whom were dressed in black as a mark of protest against the government, continued their sloganeering while holding placards with ‘democracy in danger’ written on them, Rama Devi, who was in the chair, adjourned the proceedings for the day.