No calls and no emails after work: ‘Right to Disconnect’ Bill tabled in Lok Sabha
PTC Web Desk: A series of significant private members’ bills were placed before the Lok Sabha on Friday, reflecting growing parliamentary interest in workplace rights, women’s health, and criminal justice reforms.
NCP MP Supriya Sule introduced the Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025, proposing the creation of an Employees’ Welfare Authority and granting workers the legal freedom to disengage from official calls and emails after working hours and on holidays. The draft law also empowers employees to decline responding to work-related communication beyond designated office time.
Another key proposal came from Congress MP Kadiyam Kavya, who moved the Menstrual Benefits Bill, 2024, seeking mandatory facilities and institutional support for women at the workplace during their menstrual cycle. In a similar vein, LJP MP Shambhavi Choudhary presented a bill advocating paid menstrual leave for employed women and female students, along with better access to hygiene infrastructure and health assistance.
Congress leader Manickam Tagore introduced a bill demanding an exemption for Tamil Nadu from the NEET entrance test for undergraduate medical courses. His proposal follows the Tamil Nadu government’s recent plea in the Supreme Court after the President withheld assent to the state’s earlier legislation on the same issue.
DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi also tabled a bill calling for a complete abolition of the death penalty in India. While the debate on capital punishment has resurfaced multiple times, successive central governments have maintained that the provision remains essential in exceptional cases. The Law Commission, almost 10 years ago, had recommended abolishing the death penalty except in terror-related offences.
Adding to the list, Independent MP Vishaldada Prakashbapu Patil introduced the Journalist (Prevention of Violence and Protection) Bill, 2024, aimed at safeguarding media professionals by ensuring legal protection against attacks and damage to their property.
Private member bills rarely become law, but they often shape public and political discourse by spotlighting issues that deserve government attention.
- With inputs from agencies
