Sending of data protection bill to joint panel sets ‘dangerous precedent’: Shashi Tharoor

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said creating a Joint Select Committee to examine the Personal Data Protection Bill, instead of sending it to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, sets a dangerous precedent as it will allow the government to bypass the designated panel whenever a contentious legislation is under consideration.

Tharoor, who heads the Standing Committee on Information Technology, also wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and expressed his concerns over the issue.