New Delhi: The Union government on Monday (December 15) issued a supplementary list of business in which four key new bills were sought to be introduced with just four days left for the winter session to end on December 19. As three of the four bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha, opposition members accused the Modi government of “bulldozing” Bills through parliament, without providing sufficient time to opposition members to go through the legislations as the Bills were only circulated the night before and listed in the supplementary list of business about an hour before the house resumed proceedings on Monday afternoon.The four bills that were listed in the supplementary list of business included-This includes The Repealing and Amending Bill 2025, The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill 2025, The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill 2025, and The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill 2025.While three were introduced, The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill 2025, was not. The Bill which will have the acronym VB–G RAM G Act, if passed, will replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the world’s largest rural jobs scheme.As opposition members objected to the remaining three bills at the introduction stage, The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill 2025, was sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).‘Bulldozing parliament’When the bills were introduced, opposition members raised objections to the bills being added to the supplementary list of business only on Monday afternoon.“The Bill has not been circulated in proper time and it is being bulldozed in the house without proper agenda in the list of business,” said Republican Socialist Party (RSP) MP N.K. Premachandran.TMC MP Saugata Ray questioned the parliamentary affairs ministry for not providing enough time for members to go through the bill.“The supplementary list of business was circulated at 1pm this afternoon. Is this way the parliamentary affairs ministry functions where they do not even give us time to oppose introduction,” he said.Objections to nomenclature and over centralisationOpposition members said The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill 2025, provides overriding powers to the centre, and undermines state governments as well as principles of federalism, while questioning the nomenclature of the bill in Hindi.Premachandran said that it was difficult from him to even pronounce the bill and said that the nomenclature of the bill was violative of Article 348 (b) of the Constitution which says that legislations should have names in English. Congress MP Jothimani and DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathi also objected to the name of the Bill.“I see this is as Hindi imposition. Already Tamil Nadu has been deprived of SSA () funds just because we have opposed the three language policy in the National Education Policy, 2020. This Bill moves forward despite a parliamentary standing committee saying that it maintains a union government heavy composition and insufficient state representation,” said Jyotimani.The Bill according to its statement of objects and reasons provides for the formation of a Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan along with the three Councils. These include the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Viniyaman Parishad (the Regulatory Council), the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Gunvatta Parishad (the Accreditation Council) and the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Manak Parishad (the Standards Council) to enable and empower Universities and other higher educational institutions to achieveexcellence in teaching, learning, research and innovation, as an outcome of better co-ordination and determination of standards in institutions for higher education or research and scientific and technical institutions.The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan will be an apex umbrella body to provide direction for comprehensive and holistic growth of higher education and ensure co-ordination between the Councils.“This bill is an effort to centralise power in the central government’s hands with regard to education. Earlier there was UGC, which decided on allocating funds for educational institutions. Now that is being taken over. I admit that under Article 66 the centre has the power to legislate on educational matters though it is in the concurrent list. But parliament cannot take complete control over state universities. This undermines independence and statutory autonomy and checks on executive power,” said Ray.While the bill was introduced despite their opposition, union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said that it will be sent to a JPC.The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill 2025, was also introduced in the house by Jitendra Singh which seeks to open India’s nuclear energy sector to the private sector.Congress MP Manish Tewari while opposing the introduction of the bill said that the bill offers sweeping powers to the central government for licensing acquisition, exemptions for private players and the arbitrary declaration of property.“Permitting profit seeking private participation in ultra hazardous nuclear activities while simultaneously limiting liability while granting statutory immunities and restricting judicial remedies undermines the state’s non delegable public trust obligations over life, health and the environment,” he said. “Such an arrangement provides for an unconstitutional abdication of essential sovereign responsibilities where the state is required to act as a trustee and not as a facilitator and licensor.”Singh however, said that Tewari’s objections could be taken up during the discussion on the Bill while only the introduction was being put forward at present and then went on to say that previous legislations had been brought to the House under Congress governments.“The same house brought the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 when Jawaharlal Nehru was the prime minister and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 was brought when Manmohan Singh was prime minister. Why suddenly there is a different party in power, the house has been forbidden from bringing this bill?” said Singh.According to the statement of objects and reasons the Bill will repeal the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.“The new legislation is aligned to achieve the objectives of increasing the share of nuclear energy in the total energy mix of India, facilitate innovation in nuclear science and technology, expand its applications to non-power applications and continue to honour India’s obligations towards safety, security, safeguards and towards nuclear liability,” it says.India has set an ambitious target to achieve energy independence with a roadmap for decarbonisation of the economy by 2070 and to achieve 100 gigawatt of nuclear power capacity by 2047. “To achieve this goal, it is imperative to enact a new legislation to harness the full potential of India’s nuclear energy and indigenous resources through active involvement of both the public and private sectors. It further seeks to leverage the contribution of domestic nuclear energy for augmenting the global nuclear energy ecosystem,” it says.The Repealing and Amending Bill 2025 was also introduced by Minister of State (independent charge) of law and justice Arjun Ram Meghwal. This report, originally published at 1.52 pm, has been updated with the day’s happenings.