New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS): During the tabling of a JPC report on the Personal Data Protection Bill in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Congress Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh said it showed how the opposition and government could work together.

"If the Chairman is cooperative, government is accommodative, then the opposition is responsive," Jairam said.

To this, Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu responded that this should be maintained every time, presumably referring to the ongoing tussle between the government and the opposition in the House.

While making the statement, Jairam Ramesh referred to the meetings being held smoothly despite the committee seeing two successive chairpersons from the BJP -- first Meenkashi Lekhi and now P.P. Chaudhary. The committee adopted the report on the Personal Data Protection Bill, the Congress MPs, however, gave a dissent note.

Congress MP from Anandpur Sahib Manish Tewari and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh had submitted a dissent note last month.

Submitting the dissent note, Jairam Ramesh had said, "The Joint Committee of Parliament has adopted its report on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019. There are dissent notes, but that is in the best spirit of parliamentary democracy. Sadly, such examples are a few and far between and under the Modi regime."

"I am compelled to submit a detailed dissent note. But that should not detract from the democratic manner in which the Committee has functioned. Now, for the debate in Parliament," Jairam said.

Tewari said, "I was constrained to submit a dissent note as I do not agree with the fundamental design and construction of the Bill."

After its introduction in the Lok Sabha, the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, had been referred to the joint committee to seek views and suggestions on the legislation from individuals and associations/bodies concerned. The committee met last month to finalise the report under P.P. Chaudhary.