“The Consumer Protection Bill, once passed by the Parliament, will empower consumer movement in the country and therefore the Consumer Protection Bill which is pending before the Parliament since a long time should be passed in the ensuing session of Parliament itself”- said the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) in a communication sent to Union Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.
The inordinate delay in passing the Bill is going against the wishes of the Prime Minister who strongly advocated the necessity of the Bill while addressing an international forum few months back-added CAIT.
While inviting attention of Paswan towards the new Consumer Protection Bill introduced in the Parliament in year 2015 and later approved by the Union Cabinet with amendments, the CAIT said that but still it is in the queue to be passed by the Parliament. We urge that the said Bill be taken on priority and must be passed in the current session of the Parliament-said CAIT.
CAIT National President B.C.Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal while demanding immediate passage of the said Bill in the Parliament said that being concerned with the delay even the Prime Minister was firm in saying that “consumer protection is one of the priorities of the Government and the law was on the anvil to crack down on misleading advertisements and will lay great emphasis on consumer empowerment.”
They further said that the bill is critical not only for consumer protection but will also differentiate between the roles and responsibilities of small & genuine retailers. It will certainly put an end to unfair practices and will also enable the creation of a powerful Central Consumer Protection Authority.
Both Bhartia and Khandelwal also argued that Bill should also adequately address the long standing problem of misleading and celebrity driven endorsement whereby celebrities should also be held responsible for the products they endorse. Engaging Brand Ambassadors for product promotions has become widely prevalent and consumers are guided or misguided by such endorsements irrespective of the quality of the products.It is imperative that liability should be cast upon Brand Ambassadors under the Consumer Protection Act.
