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 1:27 PM IST
Sad day for country: Adhir on caste row
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said it is a very sad day for the country when people holding constitutional positions talk about their castes.
The government is trying to wash its hands of the issue of Parliament’s security breach by taking up such an issue, he added.
Should everyone now move around wearing a label declaring their caste, he asked. (PTI) - 20 Dec 2023 1:26 PM IST
Kharge: Should I rake up my Dalit origins every time I'm not allowed to speak in RS?
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Wednesday that caste should not be dragged into every issue and wondered if he should rake up his Dalit origins every time he is not allowed to speak in Rajya Sabha, amid a row over the mimicry of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Dhankhar, who is also Rajya Sabha Chairperson, has flayed the mimicry, calling it as an insult to his background as a farmer and a Jat (his caste). The ruling BJP has echoed a similar view.
Speaking to reporters, Kharge said the Chairperson’s job is to give protection to other members but he himself is making such a statement.
“I am not allowed to speak in Rajya Sabha often. Should I say it is because I am a Dalit?” he added.
They should not incite people outside in the name of caste by talking about it inside, he said. (PTI)
