Parliament LIVE | With 97 Oppn MPs out, LS passes 3 criminal code bills, telecom bill
The Lok Sabha, with 97 Opposition members suspended for “misconduct”, passed three crucial bills to replace the colonial-era criminal laws and the Telecommunications Bill on Wednesday (December 20).
The three redrafted criminal code bills — the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill — were introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Home Minister Amit Shah last week.
These bills will replace the Indian Penal Code (1860), the Code of Criminal Procedure Act (1898), and the Indian Evidence Act (1872), respectively.
Earlier in the day, the Lower House suspended two more Opposition MPs for showing placards in the House even as the ruckus in the Parliament over the security breach issue and the mass suspension of MPs continued.
With Opposition lawmakers refusing to budge from their demands, Thomas Chazhikadan of the Kerala Congress (Mani) and AM Ariff of the CPI(M) were suspended for misconduct after a resolution moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi was adopted by the House.
This takes the number of suspended MPs in the Lok Sabha to 97. So far 143 opposition MPs have been suspended from the two Houses of Parliament.Amid this, the issue of Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee allegedly mimicking Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar took centre stage with the government condemning the act.
Banerjee, however, struck a defiant note on the incident, while maintaining that he had not named or mentioned either the Lok Sabha Speaker or the Rajya Sabha Chairman in his act and had utmost respect for Dhankhar.
Amid repeated adjournments in the Rajya Sabha, Opposition MPs staged a protest near the Gandhi statue against the suspension of their colleagues.
On Tuesday, 49 more Opposition lawmakers were suspended from Lok Sabha for unruly behaviour, taking the total number of MPs facing action in both Houses of Parliament to 141 and prompting the INDIA coalition to announce nationwide anti-government protests on Friday (December 22).
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Live Updates
- 20 Dec 2023 3:21 PM GMT
Attempt on to make Parliament opposition-free: CPI(M)
Alleging that the BJP was trying to decimate the parliamentary system in the country, CPI(M) on Wednesday claimed that an attempt is being made to make the Parliament opposition-free.
CPI(M) West Bengal state secretary Md Salim alleged that the BJP is trying to destroy the parliamentary democracy in the country.
"We have seen in the last few days how the parliamentary system is being decimated," the CPI(M) leader said at a press conference here.
Salim claimed that the incident of Parliament security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack laid bare the lack of proper security and surveillance in the new complex. "Opposition members are being suspended for questioning that," he said.
- 20 Dec 2023 3:20 PM GMT
Opposition MPs suspension 'bad sign for health of democracy': Sachin Pilot
Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Wednesday said the continuous suspension of the Opposition MPs for demanding a clarification on the recent security breach in Parliament is a bad sign for health of democracy.
He said that the MPs wanted a clarification on the sensitive issue and it is also their right to delve into the depth of reality.
"It was a very sensitive issue. The MPs wanted a clarification on this issue and it is also the right of the MPs to delve into the depth of reality. The MPs were demanding answers and the process of suspending them is going on continuously. This is a bad sign for the health of democracy," Pilot told reporters in Tonk.
- 20 Dec 2023 12:53 PM GMT
LOS passes controversial telecom bill
A bill allowing the government to temporarily take control of telecom services in the interest of national security, and providing a non-auction route for the allocation of satellite spectrum was approved by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The bill, which was passed by a voice vote, allows the Centre to take temporary possession of a telecom network in case of any public emergency or in the interest of public safety.
The Telecommunications Bill, 2023, which was piloted by Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, also provides for stopping transmission and intercept messages in case of public emergency, in the interest of public, to prevent incitement for committing offence.
“The bill will promote structural reforms in the telecom sector,” Vaishnaw said. (PTI) - 20 Dec 2023 12:36 PM GMT
LS passes 3 key criminal code Bills
The Lok Sabha, with 97 Opposition members suspended for “misconduct”, passed three crucial bills to replace the colonial-era criminal laws by voice vote on Wednesday (December 20).
The three redrafted bills — the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill — were introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Home Minister Amit Shah last week.
These bills will replace the Indian Penal Code-1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure Act-1898, and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872, respectively.
Replying to a debate on the bills — which hardly saw any participation from Opposition parties since their members have been suspended — Shah said the proposed laws were framed after comprehensive consultations and that he had gone through every comma and full stop of the draft legislations before bringing them before the House for approval.
He said the existing criminal laws were reflective of the colonial mindset with the intention to punish and not impart justice.
“The three new bills seek to establish a justice system based on Indian thinking... The three proposed criminal laws will free people from colonial mindset and its symbols,” Shah said, before the Lok Sabha passed the bills by voice vote.
(With agency inputs)
