Parliament session |As Parliament reconvenes in New Delhi on Monday, the NCP (SP) has raised strong objections to the recently enacted Criminal Law Bills, criticising the manner in which they were passed and the implications they hold for civil liberties and democratic freedoms.
NCP (SP) President Sharad Pawar highlighted the undemocratic process through which these bills were passed, noting, “No one can deny the fact that the change in the law and order of the country was done by suspending 150 Opposition MPs.”
In a strongly worded statement posted on X, Pawar hit out at the government and said, “It would be wrong to expect a discussion from rulers obsessed with implementing a single-point agenda.”
Echoing these concerns, NCP (SP) Working President Supriya Sule condemned the manner in which the Criminal Law Bills were enacted, stating that they were “railroaded in the Parliament session without any discussion.”
“By expanding police authority, extending remand periods, permitting solitary confinement, and diminishing judicial oversight, the NDA government is establishing a repressive police state,” she asserted in a statement also posted on X.
Sule emphasized the urgency of reconsidering these laws, noting, “The soul of Indian democracy is at stake and we cannot afford to be silent.”
The statements come at a time when the INDIA alliance has made the criminal law bills a significant flash-point between the government and the opposition.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin have written to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre to defer the laws.
The Karnataka government has also submitted an 88-page report to the Centre, raising concerns over key provisions like allowing the police 14 days to conduct a preliminary investigation before registering an FIR and the exclusion of Indian Penal Code Section 377, which is invoked in cases of sexual abuse against men.
The Bar Council of India had announced on June 27 that several bar associations across the country have sought to hold indefinite protests unless the new laws were suspended.
Striking a conciliatory note, Pawar acknowledged the need for legal reforms to keep pace with changing times but criticized the government’s approach, saying, “Although there is a need to change with time, more concrete steps could have been taken by holding a discussion to bring transparency.”
Sule has called on the 18th Lok Sabha to revisit the Criminal Law Acts to ensure they align with the constitutional principles, stressing, “The 18th Lok Sabha must urgently reconsider these Criminal Law Acts to ensure they align with the principles enshrined in the Constitution.”
