Over 85 private members’ bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday, including a bill seeking a ban on serving non-vegetarian food at government meetings and functions, PTI reported.

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Parvesh Sahib Singh introduced the Official Government Meetings and Functions (Prohibition on serving Non-Vegetarian Food) Bill which sought to stop serving non-vegetarian food at government meetings and functions.

“Consumption of non-veg foods not only causes rampant abuse and killings of animals but also has devastating environmental impacts,” Singh told News18. “Germany has also introduced for the same reason as we have given.”

“A United Nations environment program report by international panel of sustainable report management has said that lesser consumption of animal product is necessary to save the world from worst impacts of climate change,” he said, adding that the meat industry has a “devastating impact” as animals are made to go through “gruesome” treatments. “It is urgent for the government to take necessary steps and make its own contribution.”

Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party introduced a bill to set up an Employees’ Welfare Authority to guarantee every employee the right to refuse work-related calls and emails after work hours and on holidays.

BJP parliamentarian Nishikant Dubey presented a bill seeking to set up a body to ensure population of cows is stabilised, NDTV reported. Another BJP MP, Jagdambika Pal, introduced a Bill seeking amendments to the Army Act, 1950, the Navy Act, 1957 and Air Force Act, 1950, to give equal rights and opportunities to LGBT members to serve in the forces.

Shiv Sena’s Shivaji Adalrao Patil presented a bill seeking abolition of begging and rehabilitation of beggars, while Congress parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor introduced the Freedom of Literature Bill in the Lok Sabha with the aim of increasing literary freedom in the country. The bill seeks to remove “outdated provisions which are not congruent with the spirit of democracy, such as the anti-blasphemy and obscenity laws”. The bill also “substantially curbs the power of the government to ban books,” he tweeted.

Tharoor said that apart from this, he has introduced three draft laws – one to punish sports fraud, another on the sexual, reproductive and menstrual rights of women, and a third to amend the Disaster Management Act to permit financial support for rehabilitation and reconstruction.