RS passes TRAI Bill to clear Misra's appointment

New Delhi: The TRAI Amendment Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on Tuesday which would remove legal hurdles in the appointment of former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chief Nripendra Misra as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Moving the Bill, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the focus of measure was to remove "a palpable anomaly" as the existing law provided that a former TRAI Chairman could take up private job two years after retirement but not a govt job ever in his life.

Other regulatory bodies like Competition Commission, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority and SEBI do not have such provision, he said, adding the government decided to amend the law to bring parity among all regulatory bodies. He said the Bill and Ordinance were not "individual specific". The government was doing away with this anomaly that someone is capable and government is not able to utilise his services. "The scope of the Bill is very limited and it is to create equality among all regulatory bodies," Prasad said. T Subbirami Reddy (Congress) moved a statutory resolution to disapprove the TRAI (Amendment) Ordinance issued earlier to appoint Misra, saying the ordinance was like a 'Brahmastra' which should be used rarely by the government.