Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that when the three Bills meant to reform India’s criminal justice system were being debated in Parliament, the Opposition chose to boycott the discussion and mimic the Vice-President instead.
“We have never sullied the honour of a person holding a constitutional post. The people of the country should keep in mind that when the process of converting these three Bills into law was going on, the Opposition was insulting the dignitaries holding constitutional posts and violating the dignity of the Constitution,” he said.
Mr. Shah made the remarks in Chandigarh as he inaugurated nine development projects and laid the foundation stone for three other projects.
A total of 146 MPs have been suspended from both Houses of Parliament, which were adjourned sine die a day in advance on Thursday. Among the Bills passed during the Winter Session were the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Sanhita — to replace the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Indian Evidence Act, respectively.
Also read: List of MPs suspended so far in Parliament’s Winter Session
The Home Minister said many governments had come and gone in the country, but the dignity of constitutional posts had never been besmirched.
“Those who preach to us today have themselves deeply attacked the bright tradition of democracy. The people of this country are watching these things,” he said, adding that the Opposition does not realise that constitutional posts are a means of implementing the Constitution, which is why they are considered above politics.
Mr. Shah said the justice system should function in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution. “Our laws should be prepared in view of the latest technologies. For this, necessary infrastructure should be created with all the facilities from connectivity to hardware.”
The Minister said the Bills have provisions to ensure “a complete leakproof judicial system through which police stations, DGP offices, courts, jails, forensic science laboratories, offices of the prosecutors, and the Secretariats are connected to one other”.
Once the Bills are enacted, the disposal of criminal cases would not take more than three years, he said.
In Haryana’s Kurukshetra, during the ongoing International Gita Mahotsav, he said the scrapping of Article 370 had enabled “the complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the Indian Union”.
“The construction of the temple at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi symbolises the beginning of religious and cultural renaissance in the country,” he added.
