In an interesting development, senior Congress leader and former home minister P Chidambaram has been added as a member to the Department-Related Standing Committee (DRSC) on Home Affairs at a time when the parliamentary panel is discussing three proposed laws that will replace the IPC, CrPC and the Evidence Act.
Chidambaram has replaced party colleague from Bengal, Pradeep Bhattacharjee, whose Rajya Sabha term ended recently.
“The Chairman, Rajya Sabha has, on the 28 August, 2023, nominated Shri P. Chidambaram, Member, Rajya Sabha, to the Committee on Home Affairs vice Shri P. Bhattacharya, who retired from the membership of Rajya Sabha on the 18 August, 2023,” a parliament bulletin said.
Chidambaram had served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs from 2017 to 2018. He is also currently a member of the Department Related Standing Committee on External Affairs.
The former Union minister, however, told News18 he was unaware of the development. “I have not been informed and this is not to my knowledge,” he said.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs is of the Rajya Sabha and has members from both Houses of Parliament. BJP member Brij Lal is the chairman of the Standing Committee on Home Affairs.
Earlier this month, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar had referred the three proposed laws that will replace the IPC, CrPC and the Evidence Act to the Committee and asked it to submit its report within three months.
The bills — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill — were introduced in the Lok Sabha by Home Minister Amit Shah on August 11. The bills, once passed, will replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act respectively.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provides for several changes in the existing provisions including that of defamation, attempt to commit suicide and expanded the scope of offence against women pertaining to sexual intercourse by employing “deceitful means”.
It also lists new offences such as acts of secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities or endangering the sovereignty or unity in the new avatar of the sedition law.
For the first time, the word terrorism has been defined under the BNS which was not there under the IPC.
On three days last week, the Committee held discussions on the bill with detailed presentations by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla. The next meeting of the committee on these bills is slated to take place on September 11 and 12.
Opposition members reportedly raised a range of issues, with DMK’s Dayanidhi Maran alleging that Hindi names given to the bills are violative of Article 348 of the Constitution, while other parties have questioned the hurry in introducing the bills.
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