Mumbai (Maharashtra): Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut has lashed out at the Naredra Modi-led regime saying it should not brag about repealing the sedition law as it is currently using legislations, which are scarier than what the British brought, against its political opponents.
Speaker to reporters here on Saturday, Raut, a Rajya Sabha member, wondered whether the law is being repealed to help "RSS worker" and former senior Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist Pradeep Kurulkar, who has been booked for espionage.
The Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Maharashtra police last month filed a chargesheet against Kurulkar, who was the director of one of the labs of the DRDO in Pune, in a court. He was arrested on May 3 on charges of providing confidential information to a Pakistani agent under the Official Secrets Act and is now in judicial custody.
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The Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson also welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court to grant bail to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik in a money-laundering case. "Do not brag about repealing the sedition law. You (the BJP) have brought laws which are scarier than what the British made and they are being made to trouble your political opponents," the 61-year-old leader alleged. "You are using laws that are more dreadful than what the British made against your political opponents and this is more dangerous than sedition," he said.
In an overhaul of criminal laws, the Centre on Friday introduced in the Lok Sabha three bills to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and Indian Evidence Act, proposing, among other things, repeal of the sedition law and introducing a new provision with a wider definition of the offence.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill, 2023; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Bill, 2023 to replace the CrPC; and Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) Bill, 2023 that will replace the Indian Evidence Act. The Bills have been referred to the Standing Committee on Home Affairs.
Priyanka Chaturvedi, Raut's party colleague in Rajya Sabha, asked what was the hurry behind introducing the bills on the last day of the Monsoon session without consulting its stakeholders. She said there should have been discussion before introducing these laws in Parliament. (With PTI inputs)
