CHENNAI: Alleging that “part-timers” drafted the three new
criminal laws
that came into effect on July 1, former Union minister and senior Congress leader
P Chidambaram
on Saturday called for the laws to be kept in abeyance and reviewed by law commission. He said
law commission
had been bypassed in the process of enacting
new laws
and dissent notes of opposition were not considered.
Speaking at
DMK
legal wing’s hunger strike organised to protest ‘anti-democratic and anti-constitutional’ laws, Chidambaram cautioned about potential disarray in administration of criminal justice with introduction of the new laws. The Union govt copy-pasted much of the previous laws, IPC, CrPC and Indian Evidence Act in the new laws, and the laws contained defects and discrepancies, he said, criticizing govt’s claim that it would repeal colonial-era legislation.
“If ruling party alone has spoken, voted and passed three laws in Parliament, after evicting 146 MPs, this is a rule worse than colonial rule,” Chidambaram said. He pointed to specific controversial provisions such as solitary confinement, extended police custody up to 90 days, and possible denial of bail during this period. He noted that while state govts could amend these laws as they fall under the Concurrent List, the Centre was unlikely to accept such changes.
DMK general secretary Duraimurugan accused the BJP govt of using the new laws to impose Hindi. Provisions like handcuff usage during arrests and property seizure only reflected the authoritarian nature of the regime, he said.
TNCC chief K Selvaperunthagai said Union govt was trying to enforce a homogeneous identity, encompassing one nation, one election, one language, one flag, and one leader. He called for protests across Tamil Nadu against the new laws. IUML national president K M Kader Mohideen, CPI state secretary R Mutharasan and CPM state secretary K Balakrishnan, DMK legal wing secretary and MP N R Elango, and DMK MP P Wilson were among others who spoke against the new laws.
Following the event, Balakrishnan announced that CPM would organize protests across Tamil Nadu from July 12 to 15 to demand detailed deliberations in Parliament on the laws.
