The Union government introduced a Constitutional amendment bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday that seeks to peg the size of the council of ministers to not more than 10 per cent of respective strengths of Parliament and state legislatures and also strengthens the anti-defection law.
Following suggestions from the Congress and other opposition members that the bill should be sent to a standing committee, Law and Justice Minister Arun Jaitley said the government itself was committed to a larger consensus on it.
He said the government proposed to accept the suggestions made by the Dinesh Goswami Committee, Law Commission of India and the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, to omit paragraph 3 of the 10th Schedule pertaining to the exemption from disqualification in case of splits.
Referring to the abnormally large council of ministers being constituted by various governments at the Centre and in states, the NCRWC suggested a ceiling of 10 per cent of the total strength of the house be fixed.
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