The Rajya Sabha adjourned on Wednesday till 11 am. Earlier in the day, the Rajya Sabha passed a Bill to repeal 76 laws that are obsolete or have been made redundant by other laws. The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2023, was passed through a voice vote in the Upper House after a brief debate involving eight legislators. However, almost the entire Opposition walked out of the House due to concerns about security breaches in the Lok Sabha.
In addition to repealing 76 obsolete laws, the Bill aims to correct a minor drafting error in the Factoring Regulation Act, 2011. The First Schedule of the Bill lists 24 laws slated for repeal, including 16 amending Acts and two from before 1947. The Second Schedule of the Bill lists 41 Appropriation Acts targeted for repeal, encompassing 18 Appropriation Acts for the Railways spanning the years 2013 to 2017.
In response to the debate, Union Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal stated that the Bill aims to repeal 76 obsolete laws as part of the standard procedure for repealing any legislation. He highlighted that eight MPs participated in the debate and emphasized that the government must introduce a Bill to repeal obsolete laws since they cannot naturally expire like human beings.
On the 22nd anniversary of the Parliament terror attack, a major security breach occurred when two intruders entered the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitor gallery during Zero Hour.
