Criminal laws passed forcibly, INDIA bloc will not allow bulldozer justice, says Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday, 1 July, claimed that the three new criminal laws were passed "forcibly" after suspending 146 MPs in the last Lok Sabha, and asserted that the INDIA bloc will not allow such "bulldozer justice" to prevail in the country's parliamentary system.

The three new criminal laws came into effect in the country on 1 July bringing far-reaching changes in India's criminal justice system.

Taking potshot at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that last 10 years of his rule was just a trailer and 'picture abhi baaki hai', Kharge said the third term of NDA has seen exam paper leaks, terror attack in J&K, train accident, airport canopy collapse, bridges cave-ins and toll tax hike.

"How the PM's picture would be, we have been able to imagine in the last one month," Kharge quipped.

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.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who piloted the laws, had said the new laws would give priority to providing justice, unlike the colonial-era laws that gave primacy to penal action.

From Monday, all fresh FIRs will be registered under the BNS. However, cases filed earlier will continue to be tried under the old laws till their final disposals.

Congress leader Manish Tewari also demanded that Parliament re-examine the new criminal laws, claiming they lay the foundation of turning the country into a police state.

"The new criminal Laws that came into effect from 12 midnight July 1st 2024 - (Today) lay the foundations of turning India into a Police State," the Chandigarh MP said on X.

Their implementation must be stopped forthwith and Parliament must re-examine them, the former Union Minister said.