The Parliament will meet again on Thursday for the 14th day of the current Winter Session, one day after the Opposition’s strength was further diminished with the suspension of two more Lok Sabha members for creating a commotion over their demand for a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the security breach on December 13. The Upper House on Wednesday passed three bills that would replace the criminal laws from the colonial era. The Rajya Sabha is scheduled to discuss and approve these bills on Thursday. 97 opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha were suspended, so they were unable to participate in the proceedings when the draft laws were approved by voice vote.
Two more Opposition MPs — Thomas Chazhikadan of the Kerala Congress (Mani) and A M Ariff of the CPI(M) — were suspended from Lok Sabha for misconduct on Wednesday, taking the tally of ousted members to 143.
Of the members suspended, 97 belong to the Lower House and 46 to the Upper House.
After reintroducing the three Bills to replace the British-era criminal laws on Wednesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the draft legislations — the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita Bill and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill — were in consonance with the spirit of the Constitution.
Replying to the debate on three Bills on Wednesday, Home Minister Shah said their passage will be a big step towards the deliverance of speedy justice.
Referring to a popular line from a Bollywood movie, he said ‘Tareekh Pe Tareekh’ has been a bane of the criminal justice system.