The Congress on Saturday urged the Centre to defer the implementation of new criminal laws as it was passed without proper discussion in parliament. The party demanded the laws should be referred to the new standing committee on home affairs. The three new laws come into effect from July 1.
Congress Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said the three far-reaching Bills were bulldozed through Parliament without proper debate and discussion. “On December 25, 2023, the President of India had given her assent to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. The three far-reaching Bills had been bulldozed through Parliament without proper debate and discussion, and at a time when 146 MPs had been suspended from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha,” he tweeted.
The Congress leader charged the bills were “bulldozed” through the home affairs’ standing committee without proper consultations or considering dissent notes sent against the bill. “Earlier, the Bills had been bulldozed through the Standing Committee on Home Affairs without detailed interactions with stakeholders across the country and completely ignoring the written and very detailed dissent notes of a number of MPs belonging to different political parties, including the Indian National Congress, who were members of the Standing Committee,” he said.
Ramesh said the implementation of the bills should be deferred for further consultation. “The Indian National Congress is of the firm opinion that this date should be deferred so as to enable a thorough review and re-examination by the reconstituted Standing Committee on Home Affairs which should have more extensive and meaningful consultations with various legal experts and organisations who have serious concerns on the three laws as they stand - thereafter by the 18th Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as well,” he said.