Parliament passes bill to extend ED director tenure up to 5 years

New Delhi: Parliament passed a bill on Tuesday to extend the tenure of the Enforcement Directorate director to a maximum of five years from the present two years, with Rajya Sabha approving the proposed legislation by voice vote amid a walkout by the opposition.

The Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill-2021 was passed by Lok Sabha on 9 December. It was moved in the Upper House of Parliament by Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension Jitendra Singh.

The bill seeks to extend the tenure of the director of the Enforcement Directorate from two years to a maximum of five years.

While introducing the bill, Singh said the amendments are in the interest of national security and for the stability of the financial structure.

“Enforcement director has a very crucial role even in money laundering cases, and is possibly the only agency of its kind available in India. But for India, most of the other countries have a much longer term. And here also, the term is not being made indefinite…,” he said.

The clause on tenure which says “not less than two years” is just being amended to “go up to five years” with a one-year extension on each occasion, he added.

The minister questioned the motive of the opposition for not participating in the discussion on the bill.

He said that “incidentally but not insignificantly” most of the laundering cases being investigated by the agency belong to the 10-year tenure of the UPA 1 and UPA 2 governments and “involves some of the high and mighty of those times”.

“To that extent, I can say it is a sad day in the history of Parliament that a principal opposition party has chosen not to side with those who are working against black money but side with those who are the beneficiaries of black money,” Singh said.

The Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill-2021 was tabled immediately after Rajya Sabha passed The Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill-2021 amidst a walkout by the opposition over the suspension of their 12 members.

The bill facilitates extension of the tenure of the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to a maximum of five years from the present two years.

Participating in a discussion on the bill, BJP member GVL Narasimha Rao said the bill to extend the tenures of CBI and ED directors ensure both institutions will work more efficiently.

Parliament has also passed the bill to extend the tenure of the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to a maximum of five years from the present two years.

He said 3.38 lakh companies were found to be shell companies which were shut down by the Enforcement Directorate.

Narasimha said that in the Enforcement Directorate 888 prosecution complaints were filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the last seven years.

“Properties worth Rs 89,547 crore were attached under PMLA cases and (attachment of properties worth) Rs 50,945 crore has already been confirmed by the adjudicating authorities,” he said.

Narasimha cited several observations of the Supreme Court in various cases, including the appointment of Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas, to attack the opposition parties.

Republican Party of India leader and Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale spoke in favour of the bill.

“Corruption should end. Black money should end and more money should come into the national treasury,” Athawale said.

Sushil Kumar Modi of the BJP said the government has taken a number of initiatives over the past few years in its relentless fight against corruption.

The government has brought in law to stop black money being routed through Mauritius, Cyprus and Singapore. It has also brought the fugitive economic offenders law to empower law enforcement agencies to confiscate the assets of economic absconders, he said.

Other initiatives such as online auction of coal blocks and direct benefit transfer have plugged leakages in the system and ensured transparency, he added.

Suresh Prabhu of the BJP noted that the bill provides for extending the tenure of the director of the Enforcement Directorate to a maximum of 5 years if needed by recording reasons for which such an extension is being granted.

“There may be a debate on whether it should be five years or three years or seven years…but it is absolutely important that the tenure should be long enough to discharge duty efficiently,” Prabhu added.

Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) MP Subhash Chandra Bose Pilli, TDP member Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar, AIADMK member M Thambidurai and BJP MP Rakesh Sinha also participated in the debate.

Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .