Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at the ruling BJP in the Lok Sabha on July 1, saying those who call themselves Hindus are engaged in “violence and hate” round the clock, drawing massive protests from the members of the treasury benches, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that calling the entire Hindu society violent is a serious matter.
Gandhi, however, retorted that he was speaking about the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) or Modi are not the entire Hindu society, he added.
The Congress leader held up a picture of Lord Shiva and said his message is about fearlessness and non-violence. He also cited the teachings of other religions to make a similar point.
“All religions and all our great men talk about non-violence and fearlessness, but those who call themselves Hindus only talk about violence, hatred and falsehood.... Aap Hindu ho hi nahi (You are not Hindus),” he said.
Gandhi’s dig at the BJP had the members of the treasury benches on their feet.
Home Minister Amit Shah sought the Congress leader’s apology to the House and the country for hurting the feelings of crores of people who take pride in identifying themselves as Hindus.
Shah spoke of the Emergency and 1984 anti-Sikhs riots to hit back at Gandhi, saying he had no right to talk about non-violence when the Congress had spread “terror” in the country.
Gandhi further emphasised that all religions talk about courage, citing Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism to underline the importance of fearlessness.
He accused the BJP of launching systematic attacks on the Constitution and the fundamental idea of India, noting that millions of people have resisted the ideas proposed by the ruling party. “I was attacked on the orders of Prime Minister Modi. There were 20-plus cases (against me), (my) house was taken away, 55 hours of interrogation by the ED,” Gandhi said.
Despite these challenges, he said he feels proud of the collective effort to protect the Constitution. “It feels nice that BJP people are now repeating ‘Jai Samvidhan’ after me,” he said.
Gandhi also expressed his contentment at being in the Opposition. “I am happy and proud to be in the Opposition. For us, there is something more than power, it is the truth,” he said.
During his first speech as the Leader of Opposition, Gandhi held up a picture of Lord Shiva, which prompted Speaker Om Birla to remind him that rules do not allow displaying placards in the House.
Gandhi reiterated that all religions, including Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism, emphasise courage and the importance of being fearless.
Medha Patkar sentenced to five months in prison in 23-year-old defamation case
A Delhi court on Monday sentenced activist Medha Patkar, known for Narmada Bachao Andolan, for five months in an over two-decade-old criminal defamation case lodged against her by Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Vinai Kumar Saxena.
Metropolitan Magistrate (MM) Raghav Sharma of the Saket Court, who had convicted Patkar for the offence of criminal defamation under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, on May 24, 2024, said that the conviction order will remain suspended for 30 days.
The court also rejected Patkar’s prayer to release her on the condition of probation and noted that it is not imposing punishment of 1-2 years, considering Patkar’s age and health conditions.
“The offence entailed a maximum punishment of simple imprisonment of up to two years or fine or both,” the court noted. The accused is also ordered to pay ₹10 lakh compensation to Saxena.
The matter pertains to 2001, when Saxena was the president of an NGO named National Council of Civil Liberties. In 2000, his organisation had published an advertisement against Patkar’s movement which opposed the construction of dam on Narmada river. Soon after this, Patkar had issued a press statement in which she claimed that Saxena was a “coward” and not a “patriot”.
Aggrieved by this, Saxena had approached a local court in Ahmedabad which took cognisance of the offence. The case was moved to Saket court in 2003 in pursuant to the orders of the Supreme Court.
The court while convicting Patkar said that her actions were deliberate and malicious. The court added that Patkar imputed that Saxena was an agent of the Government of Gujarat which and her comments were direct attack on petitioners personal character and loyalty to the nation.
The court also said that the accused had failed to provide any evidence to counter the claims that she did not intend or foresee the harm these imputations would cause to the complainant.
Crimes committed before July 1 to be tried under old laws, says Amit Shah
As the new criminal laws are implemented from today, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the laws will be applicable for cases if the date of crime is on or after July 1, 2024.
Shah spoke to reporters in New Delhi on the newly-enacted criminal laws namely, The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) that has replaced the colonial-era criminal codes Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (IEA).
Replying to a question on ambiguity on which law would be tried for pending cases, Shah explained: “If the date of crime is before July 1, 2024, then it will be tried under old laws, if it is later, it will be tried under new laws.” He also said it might take three to four years for all the laws and its technological upgrades to be implemented.
“Technology has not reached all police stations, I agree but BNS is applicable across the country,” Shah said adding, it will be implemented before August 15 in all Union Territories. Preparedness is required for Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, not for BNA, BNSS, he added.
Shah also said the issue of bringing sexual crimes against men will be discussed since a Supreme Court verdict has mentioned this. Shah said a case registered for a motorcycle theft in Gwalior is the first-ever FIR filed under the new law.
On terrorism, Shah said it has been defined separately in BNS “as we have a zero terror policy, there are some instances when conspiracies are hatched outside the country.” He recalled how a bomb blast occurred when he was Gujarat Home Minster. “All conspirators walked free as terror was not defined.”
Criminal laws passed ‘forcibly’, INDIA will not allow ‘bulldozer’ justice in par system: Congress
With the three new criminal laws coming into effect, the Congress on July 1 accused the government of getting them “forcibly” passed in Parliament after suspending 146 MPs and asserted that going forward, the INDIA bloc will not allow such “bulldozer justice” to prevail in the country’s parliamentary system.
Three new criminal laws came into effect in the country on July 1, bringing far-reaching changes in India’s criminal justice system.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) take into account some of the current social realities and modern-day crimes. The new laws replaced the British-era Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively.
In a post in Hindi on X, Kharge said, “After the political and moral shock in the elections, Modi ji and the BJP are pretending to respect the Constitution, but the truth is that the three laws of the criminal justice system which are being implemented from today, were passed forcibly after suspension of 146 MPs.” “INDIA will no longer allow this ‘bulldozer justice’ to prevail in the parliamentary system,” he asserted.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also took a swipe at the government after the first FIR was lodged under the new laws.
“The first FIR has already been filed under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita 2023. It is by Delhi Police against a street vendor for obstruction, after he was earning his daily livelihood under a foot-over bridge of New Delhi Railway Station,” Ramesh said.
Delhi Police registered its first FIR under provisions of the new criminal code the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against a street vendor selling water and tobacco products from a cart that allegedly obstructed a public way in central Delhi’s Kamala Market area on July 1, officials said.
Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram also slammed the government as the new criminal laws came into effect and said it was another case of “bulldozing” existing laws and replacing them with three new bills without adequate discussion and debate.
In a post on X, Chidambaram said, “90-99 per cent of the so-called new laws are a cut, copy and paste job. A task that could have been completed with a few amendments to the existing three laws has been turned into a wasteful exercise.”
“Yes, there are a few improvements in the new laws and we have welcomed them. They could have been introduced as amendments. On the other hand, there are several retrograde provisions. Some changes are prima facie unconstitutional,” he said.
MPs, who were members of the standing committee, pored over the provisions and wrote detailed dissent notes to the three bills, the senior leader said. Chidambaram added the government did not rebut or answer any of the criticisms in the dissent notes and there was no worthwhile debate in Parliament.
“Law scholars, bar associations, judges and lawyers have in numerous articles and seminars pointed out the grave deficiencies in the three new laws. No one in government has cared to answer the questions,” he said.
“It is another case of bulldozing three existing laws and replace them with three new Bills without adequate discussion and debate,” Chidambaram said. The initial impact will be to throw the administration of criminal justice into disarray, he said.
“In the medium term, numerous challenges to the laws will be instituted in various courts. In the long term, further changes must be made to the three laws to bring them in conformity with the Constitution and the modern principles of criminal jurisprudence,” Chidambaram said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who piloted the laws, had said the new laws would give priority to providing justice, unlike the British-era laws that gave primacy to penal action.
Stop ‘misusing’ agencies to silence Opposition: INDIA bloc MPs stage protest against government
Several INDIA bloc MPs staged a protest in Parliament premises on July 1 against the alleged misuse of probe agencies by the government to “target” Opposition leaders.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and several leaders of the INDIA bloc, including those from the TMC and AAP, participated in the protest on the steps leading to the Makar Dwar in Parliament.
The Opposition leaders carried placards which read “stop misusing agencies to silence Opposition” and “BJP mein jao bhrashtachar ka licence pao (Join the BJP and get a licence for corruption)”.
AAP MP Raghav Chadha held a poster that showed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal standing behind bars.
Opposition MPs raised slogans demanding release of three arrested ministers in West Bengal, and stopping “misuse” of the ED against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, and against former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren.
“The whole INDIA bloc is united against the misuse of Central agencies against opposition leaders,” Congress leader Rajeev Shukla said.
The Opposition protest comes days after a court sent Kejriwal to judicial custody till July 12 in a corruption case related to the alleged excise scam. He was formally arrested by the CBI last week. Previously, he was arrested by the ED in a money-laundering case linked to the policy. He was recently granted bail by a trial court that was stayed by Delhi High Court.
Hemant Soren was released on Friday after the state high court granted him bail in a money laundering case, observing that he was not guilty, and there was no likelihood of the petitioner committing an offence on bail.
Rajya Sabha Chair expunges Kharge’s remarks on PM Modi’s poll speeches
The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 1 for his election speeches, and also attacked the workings of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Vice President of India and Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar expunged most of the remarks made against the RSS and Modi. Calling the RSS “an organisation engaged in working for the nation”, Dhankhar asked, “Is it a crime to be a member of an organisation?”
“You are saying a particular person is a member of the RSS. Is that in itself a crime? The RSS is an organisation working for the nation. They have a lot of intelligent people,” Dhankhar said.
“You are bashing an organisation which is working tirelessly for the nation,” he added.
Kharge was interrupted several times by the Treasury Benches during the course of his 90-minute speech on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address. Kharge attacked the government on its failure to address the ethnic conflict in Manipur, and questioned the Prime Minister for not visiting the State even once, while he had the time to visit 14 foreign countries in the past one year.
The Congress leader demanded a caste census, an investigation into the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) issue, and called for a withdrawal of the Agnipath scheme.
Kharge mentioned comments made by Modi in the run-up to the 2024 General Election, presenting data on the number of times the latter had referred to “Muslims” and “Pakistan”. Dhankhar asked him to authenticate his assertions and refused to accept the newspaper clippings the Congress leader showed to buttress his points.
Kharge was backed by his party colleague and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, who asked how an Opposition MP could authenticate what the Prime Minister had said other than by citing news reports. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi concurred as she thumped the desk.
The Chair, however, did not accept the arguments and expunged the remarks made by Kharge from the records. The Leader of the Opposition insisted that he was only seeking to highlight the divisive nature of the speeches delivered by the Prime Minister. He also said no other PM before Modi had ever made such comments.
Kharge cited a remark by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Manipur, but that too was expunged, with Dhankar saying the Congress leader was contradicting himself.
Leader of the House and BJP president J.P. Nadda, too, objected to say the remarks made by Kharge against the RSS were regrettable.
The Congress leader also raised the issue of the relocation of statues of prominent personalities, including Mahatma Gandhi and Chhatrapati Shivaji, in the Parliament premises.
In Brief:
India recorded below-normal cumulative rainfall in June: IMD
India recorded below-normal rainfall in June with the deficit standing at 11%, the highest in five years, the India Meteorological Department said on July 1. According to the IMD data, India received 147.2 mm of rainfall against a normal of 165.3 mm for the month, the seventh lowest since 2001. June rainfall accounts for 15% of the total precipitation of 87 cm recorded during the four-month monsoon season in the country.
NTA announces retest result, revised rank list for NEET-UG
The National Testing Agency announced the revised rank list for the medical entrance exam NEET-UG on July 1, officials said. The revised list was announced after a retest was conducted for candidates who were earlier awarded grace marks to compensate for loss of time as the exam on May 5 started late at six centres.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
