Setting the tone for the winter session of the Parliament, Opposition parties at the all-party meeting held on Saturday demanded that the three legislations aimed at replacing the existing criminal laws should not be rushed through. They also criticised the Hindi titles of these Bills, which they said were an “insult to people of south India” and a “symbol of Hindi imperialism”.
Opposition parties expressed dismay at the “brazen” leak of the Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee report recommending the expulsion of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra even before it had been tabled in Parliament. They also flagged the “extra-Constitutional” style of functioning of Governors in non-BJP ruled States.
In the 15-day sitting from December 4-22, the government has listed 19 Bills. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi told reporters at the end of the 90-minute meeting that the government is ready for a discussion on all issues. He, however, said the Opposition must ensure an enabling environment for discussion to take place. The meeting was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
This is the penultimate session of the Parliament before the country heads for the General Election next year. Though the results of the five State Assembly elections that will be announced on Sunday (Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh) and Monday (Mizoram) were not broached during the meeting, they are expected to dominate the mood of the session. All eyes are on the results in Rajasthan, which exit polls have predicted will be a cliff-hanger.
Saturday’s all-party meeting was scantily attended, with Rajya Sabha leader of House Piyush Goyal giving it a miss along with several other party leaders, especially from the Lok Sabha. Many Opposition leaders dismissed it as a “routine ritual” holding little meaning. TMC leaders Derek O’ Brien and Sudip Bandhopadhyay pointed out that Bills had been added in the last minute, without even a hint being dropped at the all-party meeting, in a reference to the women’s reservation Bill passed in the five-day special session of Parliament held in September.
Significant amount of time was spent with Opposition leaders flagging their concerns over three legislations — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) that will replace the existing criminal justice laws.
There was near unanimous criticism of the Hindi titles of the Bills. Congress’ Rajya Sabha chief whip and party general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that the Hindi titles were a symbol of Hindi imperialism that the Modi government was trying to propagate. “Members of INDIA parties have given detailed dissent notes that have simply been brushed aside in the unseemly hurry to get the Bills through,” he added.
There are 10 dissent notes to the report of the Standing Committee on Home Affairs on the Bills.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Rajya Sabha MP P. Wilson asked why the government was pushing for these titles when a non-Hindi speaker could not even pronounce them properly. “We are not against Hindi, but we are against the brazen imposition of Hindi,” Mr. Wilson said.
Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) Lok Sabha MP N.K. Premachandran said that the titles of these Bills were clearly meant as an “insult” to the southern Indian populace.
The Opposition, especially MPs from Kerala, also demanded the Parliament discuss the Israel-Palestine issue. “The carnage and destruction that we are witnessing in Gaza cannot be termed as a Muslim problem alone. Humanity has been shamed here. Our Parliament must pass a resolution condemning Israel’s actions and send a message of solidarity to those suffering in Gaza,” Communist Party of India (CPI) MP P. Sandosh Kumar said.
The TMC’s Mr. O’ Brien also said during the meeting that reports of the Parliamentary Committee should not be made public so brazenly until tabled on the floor of the House. He suggested that the issue should be thoroughly discussed on the floor of the House before any decision was taken.
The Ethics Committee report is expected to be placed in the Lok Sabha on Monday, on the very first day of the session, by panel chairperson Vinod Kumar Sonkar.
Mr. Wilson too said that it would set a bad precedent. “People send their representatives to Parliament and only they have the right to vote them out,” he said.
The INDIA parties also spoke in one voice on the issue of Governors’ interference in the working of elected governments in non-BJP ruled States, and the need to review the Centre-State relationship. “They are acting as agents of the Narendra Modi government and not allowing democratically elected State governments to discharge their Constitutional responsibilities,” Mr. Ramesh said.
Chiming in, the DMK’s Mr. Wilson also flagged the recent developments in Tamil Nadu and the Supreme Court’s observations on them.
