Bold and big, tough on law and order, pro-women, anti-hate: Modi govt messages in the 3 Bills

The Opposition response has been muted, with senior Congress leader and noted lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi calling the Bills an attempt to leave “Modi’s imprint on everything” and to impose Hindi given their nomenclature, as well as an “audacious bid” to tamper with India’s diversity. Singhvi’s own party colleague as well as fellow lawyer Ashwani Kumar, however, just said that he hoped the Bills would implement their promise and improve the criminal system.

Codifying offences linked to mob lynching, which would cover groups of five or more committing murder based on the grounds of “race, caste, community or personal belief”, could also take the winds out of the sails of the Rahul Gandhi-led Opposition charge against the Modi government of “spreading hate”.

Beyond the immediate goals, the Bills are just the kind of swashbuckling big-scale reform that the Modi government likes to be associated with, while also signifying a clean break from the past.

A BJP leader said the legislation are part of the promise made by Modi in his Independence Day speech last year. “It is in line with the Panch Pran of Amrit Kaal put forward by Modiji – the goal of a developed India, removing any trace of the colonial mindset, taking pride in our roots, and instilling unity and a sense of duty among citizens,” a government source said, adding that work on it has been on since the start of the Modi government’s second term.

“We have been holding consultations, seeking suggestions and taking meetings since 2019. We have written to all chief ministers, all judges, governors and law academies and their suggestions have been incorporated,” said the source.

Introducing the legislation – Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Bill; and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, to replace, respectively, the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Criminal Procedure Act, 1898, and Indian Evidence Act, 1872 – in the Lok Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the proposed laws would “transform the country’s criminal justice system”, and that the old legislation “were made 160 years ago with an aim to create an atmosphere in favour of the British authority in London”.

“With the new laws, the signs of slavery will be removed from a total of 475 places,” he said, referring to the changes. People would be able to get justice within a maximum of three years, Shah said, while states need not frame separate laws now.

Over the concerns that even though ostensibly “sedition” is no longer an offence, the new Bills cover it by another name, a top functionary in the government said there was no doubt in their mind about what was needed. “There can be no leeway in dealing with anyone who threatens or acts against the country. Article 1 definition of Bharat – India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States – will remain. Anything against the country, its sovereignty, even if it is a statement or a remark, will be treated as treason.”

About other concerns such as that the legislation do not cover police reforms, the senior functionary said: “Police reforms will happen, but these would not be on the lines of what the NGOs are dictating. The police cannot be servants to society.”

For Opposition leaders, that is just the kind of hard talk which reveals the real motive behind the legislation. But, sources said, while some pushback is expected from Opposition-ruled states, the government is confident of projecting the Bills as a major, long-overdue reform.

As the current Parliament enters its fag end, the Modi government is also confident of having sent a comprehensive message that it is neither tired, nor retired. The same as what PM Modi underlined in his no-trust debate speech, saying that the BJP was set to return to power in 2024.

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The fact that the legislation are being clubbed together as “Nyay (justice) Bills” might not be a coincidence either. NYAY or Nyuntam Aay Yojana (minimum income scheme) had been one of the big-ticket promises of the Congress, especially Rahul, in the 2019 elections.