Piloting the bills, home minister Amit Shah claimed the new laws were ‘purely indigenous’ and would give priority in providing justice in place of ‘earlier British laws that gave primacy to penal action’.
“These three bills are made by Indians, for Indians and by an Indian Parliament… They give primacy to providing justice in place of punishment,” Shah said. The three bills were passed unanimously as the Opposition had walked out of the House in protest against Shah’s refusal to give a statement on the security breach in Parliament. A number of them were earlier suspended from the House. All speakers were from BJP and NDA-friendly parties.
The Rajya Sabha adjourned sine die after the passage of the three bills. A total of 17 bills were passed by the House during the winter session that concluded a day before schedule.
Shah said the passage marked the ‘end of colonial criminal justice laws’ in India. “The bills are not just about changing the nomenclature but will overhaul prevailing laws…The soul, body and spirit” of the new laws is Indian, he said. “Even if you scrutinise the laws with a microscope, you will not find any flaw,” he claimed.
“Those wearing Italian lenses cannot feel the pride” of replacing the British era laws, Shah said. The new laws also ‘replaced sedition with treason’. The laws that had led to imprisonment of Mahatma Gandhi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Savarkar and are being repealed. “We have ended the concept of Rajdroha. Now anybody can speak freely against the government, but one cannot speak against the sovereignty, integrity and unity of the country…”
