Chennai:

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday claimed that the Centre bypassed the Law Commission in enacting the three new criminal laws that came into effect from July 1.

The Law Commission, comprising of retired judges, legal experts, professors, and permanent legal staff, would normally hold consultations with bar council members, and advocate associations and prepare a draft to be presented in the Parliament, he said.

But the Law Commission was bypassed and five or six “part-timers” were appointed for a panel, he said on the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, replacing the British-era Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act.

“The laws were not referred to the Law Commission nor was it consulted. This is wrong,” Mr Chidambaram said while speaking at a protest organised here by the DMK advocate wing against the new laws.

“World over, the death penalty has been abolished. But, here solitary confinement was included as a punishment, which is an unusual and cruel punishment as per the Constitution,” he said.

Such a punishment was not prevailing anywhere in the world, the former Union Minister added.

“Similarly, life sentence and life sentence to the remainder of life have been included. What is the difference?” he asked.

Further, Mr Chidambram said that he has been insisting upon a debate on the new laws for several months but the government has not agreed it was not prepared for it.

He reiterated that 90-99 per cent of the new laws were cut, copy and paste work. The government could have instead brought a few amendments.

“I did not say there should be no reforms. … they should have brought an amendment. They changed only the section numbers. Advocates, judges and police should now read again,” the Congress leader said.

For instance, even a child or a newly recruited police constable would know that section 302 referred to murder but now this number has been changed, adding to the confusion, he claimed.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Former Union finance minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram welcomed the Supreme Court’s judgment pronouncing the arrest of the NewsClick founder invalid, saying that justice has triumphed.

“NewsClick founder was arrested on October 3, 2023. The Supreme Court ruled today that his arrest was illegal. Justice will ultimately triumph and it has today,” Mr Chidambaram said in a post on X on Wednesday.

“Who will be held responsible for the illegal arrest? Who will pay the penalty for depriving the journalist of his freedom for over 7 months?” the Congress leader asked in the post.

NewsClick founder was arrested on October 3, 2023. The Supreme Court ruled today that his arrest was illegal

Justice will ultimately triumph and it has today

Who will be held responsible for the illegal arrest?

Who will pay the penalty for depriving the journalist of his…

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) May 15, 2024

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court declared the arrest and subsequent remand of NewsClick founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha invalid.

Mr Purkayastha was arrested by Delhi Police in connection with a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on October 3, 2023. The Supreme Court ordered that Mr Purkayastha be released, subject to him furnishing surety and bail bond.

The bench, in its verdict, took into account that a copy of the remand application and grounds of arrest were not provided to Mr Purkayastha, which violated principles of natural justice.

Pronouncing the verdict, the top court said, “A copy of the remand application was not provided to the appellant. This vitiates the arrest of the appellant…Though we would have released him without surety, since the chargesheet has been filed, we release him with surety and a bail bond.”

Mr Purkayastha has been in custody since October 3 last year under the UAPA in a case over receiving Chinese funds to propagate anti-national propaganda.

According to the FIR, a large amount of funding to the news portal allegedly came from China to “disrupt the sovereignty of India” and cause disaffection against the country.

The probe agency also alleged that Mr Purkayastha conspired with a group, – People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) – to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Hitting back at the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over their claims that his party intends to redistribute wealth and that even women’s ‘mangalsutras’ were under threat, Congress leader P Chidambaram has challenged them to show even one mention of any such promise in the manifesto. 

Mr Chidambaram also said such claims were possibly being made because his party’s manifesto was a well-considered one while the BJP’s was a document of cult worship. 

Speaking exclusively to NDTV on Wednesday, the head of Congress’ manifesto committee, said, “All that the BJP has been saying for the past three or four days, especially from the Prime Minister downwards, is absolute rubbish. Show me one word called redistribution anywhere in the manifesto, which runs to 45 pages. Show me the phrase ‘ redistribute the wealth’ anywhere. Unless they are reading a manifesto written by ghosts, hired by the BJP, in invisible ink; it’s not in our manifesto.”

To a question on Sam Pitroda, Chairman of the Overseas Congress, stirring up a controversy by terming the inheritance law in the US “interesting”, the former finance minister only said that it does not appear in the manifesto and that he himself had not spoken about it. 

‘Completely Imaginary’

On the PM’s claim that the Congress planned to give reservation to Muslims at the expense of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs, Mr Chidambaram said, “Where is that in the manifesto? All the statements made by the BJP leaders in the last four days are completely imaginary. They must show where this is in the manifesto. I have been challenging them publicly.”

The former finance minister asserted that the Congress has done its math and is confident that every promise made in its manifesto can be fulfilled over the term of a government.

“Last time, when we said we would waive agricultural loans, we were ridiculed and told that there is no money, but our government waived such loans to the tune of Rs 60,000 crore. When we started the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, we were again asked, ‘Where is the money?’, but we implemented it and the BJP has continued it. We found the money for it, and so has the BJP,” he said.

Emphasising that the Congress manifesto, which promises justice to different sections of society, is being talked about across the country, he said the BJP’s document is not even a manifesto but is called ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’.

“In fact, the entire document is cult worship. They have nothing comparable to our programme, our promises. Our manifesto has become the talking point throughout India. Unfortunately, the BJP’s ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’ vanished without a trace in about two hours. Therefore, they are inventing imaginary stories and attacking us,” he said. 
 

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala):

Former Union Minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram said today that if the INDIA bloc comes to power at the Centre, it would enact a special law to bring into effect the legal principle established by the Supreme Court that “bail is the rule, and jail is the exception”.

“We are also promising to bring a special law that would say, ‘Bail is the rule, jail is the exception’. it was a great son of Kerala, Justice Krishna who emphasised this law,” Mr Chidambaram said at a press conference here.

“This rule is rarely followed in the lower judiciary, magistrates, and district judges, ultimately, not everybody can go to the Supreme Court to get bail. 65 per cent of the prisoners are under trial; they are not convicts, so why are they in jail? 90 per cent of the undertrials are OBCs, SC and STs; therefore, we would bring a special law: ‘Bail is the rule, jail is the exception’ — everybody after the first 15 days of interrogation by police or the CBI must be granted bail,” he added.

Mr Chidambaram also said that if the INDIA bloc comes to power at the Centre, it will repeal the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the three criminal laws brought by the BJP government.

“We will repeal, amend and review the following sets of laws – CAA 2019 is at the top of the list. The Farmers Produce, Trade and Commerce Promotion of Facilitation Act 2020, the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita that is equivalent to the IPC, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita that is the CrPC and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Act that is the Evidence Act,” Mr Chidambaram said while responding to a question by ANI at a press conference here.

“These five will be totally repealed. Then we have eight laws that will be repealed and new laws will be made. Then we have 25 laws, which will be amended and brought on par with the Constitution. So we are absolutely clear that the Citizenship Amendment Act will be repealed,” said Mr Chidambaram, who served as Union Home Minister from 2008 till 2012 under the UPA government.

He also rejected the CPM leaders’ allegation that the Congress leaders were silent on CAA.

“Shashi Tharoor has widely spoken against the CAA and it was widely reported. Priyanka Gandhi said we oppose CAA,” Mr Chidambaram, the chairman of the Congress manifesto committee

Recently, in an election rally, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had alleged that Congress and Rahul Gandhi were silent on CAA, showing the “same mindset” as Sangh Parivar. He further alleged that Kerala unit of the Congress, which initially joined the Left front to oppose the CAA, withdrew on the directions of its national leadership.

The Congress manifesto for 2024 Lok Sabha election under the section, “REVERSING THE DAMAGE” says, “We promise that all anti-people laws passed by the BJP/NDA without proper parliamentary scrutiny and debate, especially those relating to workers, farmers, criminal justice, environment and forests and digital data protection, will be thoroughly reviewed and changed.”

The CAA enables citizenship to undocumented migrants belonging to six non-Muslim communities — Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014 and reduces the period to qualify for citizenship from existing 11 years to five years.

New Delhi:

In a sharp response to Dr S Jaishankar’s remarks on the Katchatheevu island row, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram questioned why the foreign minister is “doing a somersault” on the issue. Mr Chidambaram also said that Dr Jaishankar’s journey from being a “suave liberal foreign service officer” to “a mouthpiece of the RSS-BJP” will be “recorded in the annals of acrobatic sports”.

The counter-strike came after Dr Jaishankar today doubled down on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charge at the Congress over the island row.

Quoting decades-old discussions in Parliament, the minister said the governments led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi were indifferent to the island.

It is true that Fishermen were detained in the last 50 years. Likewise, India has detained many SL fishermen

Every government has negotiated with Sri Lanka and freed our fishermen

This has happened when Mr Jaishankar was a foreign service officer and when he was Foreign…

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) April 1, 2024

The Katchatheevu island, he said, was a “nusiance” for Nehru. It was during the Indira Gandhi government’s tenure when India gave up fishing rights near the island, he said.

The matter has become a talking point following a media report based on an RTI reply received by Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai. Dr Jaishankar stressed that the matter has not emerged suddenly, saying that it is a “live issue”. He also said that the Congress and the DMK are approaching the matter as if they have responsibility.

The recurrent arrests of Indian fishermen by Sri Lanka is an issue that finds resonance among the people. With the elections near, the BJP wants to play up this matter as it pushes for a better show in the southern state. The Prime Minister has accused the Congress of “callously” giving away the island to Sri Lanka and said the DMK had done nothing to safeguard Tamil Nadu’s interests.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Mr Chidambaram said, “It is true that Fishermen were detained in the last 50 years. Likewise, India has detained many SL fishermen. Every government has negotiated with Sri Lanka and freed our fishermen. This has happened when Mr Jaishankar was a foreign service officer and when he was Foreign Secretary and when he is Foreign Minister.”

“What has changed for Mr Jaishankar to launch a tirade against the Congress and DMK? Were not fishermen detained by Sri Lanka when Mr Vajpayee was PM and BJP was in power and in alliance with different political parties of TN? Were not fishermen detained by Sri Lanka when Mr Modi was in power since 2014?” he added.

Tit for tat is old. Tweet for Tweet is the new weapon.

Will Foreign Minister Mr. Jaishankar please refer to the RTI reply dated 27-1-2015.

I believe that Mr Jaishankar was the FM on 27-1-2015.

The Reply justified the circumstances under which India acknowledged that a small…

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) April 1, 2024

The Congress leader said “tit for tat is old” and “tweet for tweet is the new weapon”.

“Will Foreign Minister Mr. Jaishankar please refer to the RTI reply dated 27-1-2015. I believe that Mr Jaishankar was the FM on 27-1-2015. The Reply justified the circumstances under which India acknowledged that a small island belonged to Sri Lanka. Why is the Foreign Minister and his ministry doing a somersault now?” asked Mr Chidambaram, a Tamil Nadu leader and former Home Minister. 

He then took a personal swipe at the External Affairs Minister. “How quickly can people change colours. From a suave liberal Foreign Service officer to a smart Foreign Secretary to a mouthpiece of the RSS-BJP, life and times of Mr Jaishankar will be recorded in the annals of acrobatic sports,” he said, referring to the minister, who went from being a diplomat to joining the government.

Mr Chidambaram said the pact between India and Sri Lanka helped Tamil refugees from the island come and settle in India. “Why did Indira Gandhi acknowledge that it belonged to Sri Lanka? Millions of Tamils, as many as 6 lakh Tamils, were suffering in Sri Lanka. They had to come to India as refugees and settle here. As a result of this settlement, 6 lakh Tamils came to India. They have lived in this country for the last 50 years, their families are here. They enjoy freedom,” he said.

The DMK, too, has hit out at the BJP over the issue. DMK’s A Saravanan said the External Affairs Minister has said nothing new. “The question is why the BJP is raking up this issue now. Because they are scared, they know they are going to lose this election and in Tamil Nadu, they are facing a rout. The Prime Minister cannot answer the question, why no flood relief for Tamil Nadu. He is now bringing up false bogeys,” he said.

Hyderabad:

The Congress on Saturday rejected the ‘One Nation, One Election’ idea, calling it an assault on the Constitution and federalism.

Addressing a briefing on the deliberations of the first meeting of the reconstituted Congress Working Committee (CWC) here, party leader P Chidambaram said the BJP does not have the numbers to pass the required constitutional amendments for holding simultaneous polls.

“One Nation, One Election is an assault on the Constitution… it is an attack on federalism,” he said when asked about the issue.

It will require at least five constitutional amendments and the BJP knows that it does not have the numbers to pass these, the senior Congress leader said.

“Yet, if it (BJP) puts forward this mirage of ‘One Nation, One Election’ it is only to divert attention from the pressing issues and to create a false narrative. We reject this ‘One Nation, One Election’ idea,” P Chidambaram said.

His remarks come days after the government set up an eight-member high-level committee to examine and make recommendations at the earliest on the issue of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities and panchayats.

The committee will be headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind and will have Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and former finance commission chairman N K Singh as members.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had later declined to be part of the panel.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday hit out at the BJP over the ‘One Nation, One Election’ move, alleging that like every other issue “sponsored by the BJP”, this seems to be “pre-determined and pre-packaged”.

His attack came after the government notified an eight-member high-level committee to examine and make recommendations at the earliest on the issue of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities and panchayats.

The committee will be headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind and will have Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and former finance commission chairman NK Singh as members.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Mr Chidambaram said, “The question of One Nation, One Election is a political-legal question. Actually, it is more political than legal. Whether the question deserves to be considered at this stage is highly debatable,” the former Union minister said.

“All major political parties are stakeholders in this issue and they have not been consulted in forming the 8 member committee. The 8-member committee has just one member from a major Opposition political party,” he said.

“Besides, I am able to recognise only one acknowledged constitutional lawyer in the committee,” Mr Chidambaram said.

Like every other “issue sponsored by the BJP”, the issue of ‘one nation, one election’ seems to be a “pre-determined and pre-packaged” issue, he alleged.

The notification said the panel will commence functioning immediately and make recommendations “at the earliest”, but did not specify a timeframe to submit the report.

The opposition alliance had slammed the decision announced on Friday to form a committee under Ram Nath Kovind as a “threat” to the country’s federal structure.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)