CPI(ML) MPs Urge President to Halt New Criminal Laws

CPI(ML) Liberation MPs have requested President Droupadi Murmu to delay the implementation of new criminal laws, citing concerns about draconian provisions infringing on civil liberties. MPs Sudama Prasad and Raja Ram Singh argue that the laws, which include a broadened definition of 'terrorist act' and retain contentious statutes like sedition, require thorough review and wider consensus.

In a significant move, CPI(ML) Liberation MPs have called on President Droupadi Murmu to intervene and postpone the upcoming criminal laws slated to take effect on July 1. The MPs argue that the laws, which include Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, are replete with draconian provisions that jeopardize basic civil liberties, such as freedom of speech and right to assembly.

Highlighting the gravity of these concerns, MPs Sudama Prasad and Raja Ram Singh pointed to the laws' broadened definition of a 'terrorist act', the retention of the sedition law under a new name, and the criminalization of hunger strikes as measures that could criminalize legitimate dissent. They also noted the alarming expansion of police powers to detain individuals without necessary safeguards, along with mandatory public displays of arrested individuals' details, which they argue could facilitate profiling and targeting without due process.

The MPs stressed that the new laws, introduced without parliamentary scrutiny and amidst the suspension of Opposition MPs, risk overwhelming an already strained judicial system and called for a comprehensive review and wider consensus. They also appealed to the President to advise the government against hastily enforcing these laws to preserve the nation's civil liberties and legal safeguards.

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