PTI, NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed two Bills to repeal 245 obsolete and archaic laws, including the 158-year-old Calcutta Pilots Act of 1859 and the 1911 Prevention of Seditious Meeting Act.
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the old and many irrelevant pre-independence laws were the “unfortunate part of the colonial legacy” and repealing them was a progressive move that reflects the “pro-reform” approach of the government.
He was replying to a debate on the Repealing and Amending Bill and the Repealing and Amending (Second) Bill which would repeal these age-old laws.
Some of the old acts that have been repealed are the
Hackney Carriage Act 1879 which was legislated for the regulation and control of hackney-carriages, Dramatic Performance Act 1876 when theatre was being used a medium of protest against the British rule.
Another such old act which was repealed by the Lok Sabha was ‘The Ganges Tolls Act, 1867’ which provided for collecting toll “not exceeding 12 annas” on certain boats and steamers plying on the Ganga to improve navigation of the river between Allahabad (UP) and Dinapore (Bihar).
Prasad said 1029 old laws were first repealed by Parliament in 1950 and the last time such old laws were
abolished during the Atal Behari Vajpayee government that repealed old laws in 2004.
After the Modi government came to power a two-member panel was set up to look into the repealing of archaic laws and the panel also consulted the Centre and the state government before recommending the legislations to be repealed.
Some 1824 acts were repealed after Prime MinisterNarendra Modi took over the reins of the government, the law minister said.
When Prasad spoke on abolishing the Prevention of
Seditious Meeting Act, 1911, he was needled by BJD MP
Tathagata Satpathy who alluded to the use of the sedition provision in the Indian Penal Code against opposition activists by the BJP governments in certain states.
BJD MP Pinaki Misra lauded the government and said 1301 “obsolete” laws were repealed in last 65 years, but after the Modi government took over 1824 legislations were repealed but the pace has to be accelerated.
BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said abolishing of old laws was “swachchata abhiyan” by the House, drawing a parallel to the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan, the flagship programme of the Modi dispensation.
Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut demanded repealing of Article 370, while Narendra Sawaikar, BJP MP from Goa, said his state was the only one to practise the Uniform Civil Code.
DEMAND TO DECLASSIFY TRACTOR AS TRANSPORT VEHICLE
A member in the Lok Sabha demanded immediate withdrawal of a recent notification classifying tractors under the transport vehicles category, saying it would harm the interests of farmers.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Dushyant Chautala (INLD) said with this move, there would be taxes on tractors and the farmers may not be able to use such vehicles which are more than 10 years old. He demanded that the notification be withdrawn forthwith. BJP member Kirron Kher raised the issue of various paying guest accommodations in the metro cities which were not being registered with the local municipal authorities.
Pappu Yadav, expelled RJD member, claimed that he had been falsely implicated in a criminal case after he spoke against a private hospital allegedly involved in wrongdoings.
Fake doctors are mushrooming in Bihar, he alleged and demanded that the Medical Council of India and the government should look into it.
CONCERN OVER POLLUTION IN BRAHMAPUTRA
Members in the Lok Sabha expressed concern over the contamination of the Brahmaputra river as they asked the government to take up the matter with China from where the river flows into India and inform
Parliament about it. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the matter was of serious concern and assured the House that he will inform “the highest level in government” about it. Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD) raised the issue of increased level of pollutants in the river, also known as Siang, which flows into Arunachal Pradesh from south Tibet in China before getting into Assam.
CONG PROTESTS IN LS
Congress members’ protest over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attack on his predecessor Manmohan Singh during the Gujarat polls drew condemnation from the government, which accused it of holding “mock proceedings” in the House in violation of the Chair’s rulings.
Members of the opposition party trooped into the Well during the Question Hour after Speaker Sumitra Mahajan disallowed their demand to raise the issue.
She said whatever had happened in an election campaign should not be used to disrupt the proceedings. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge then said something to the Chair, who did not allow him to speak. This was followed by the members of his party to stage a walk-out.
It prompted Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar to slam the opposition party, saying the conduct of the Congress was “shameful and condemnable”.
At one time during the Question Hour, Mahajan had warned Congress MPs that she would ‘name’ them. Naming of a member by the Chair generally leads to disciplinary action.
SURVEY ON IMPACT OF DRUG ABUSE
With no reliable data available on the spate of drug abuse and alcoholism, the government has undertaken a national survey on the issue which is likely to be published in March, the Lok Sabha was informed. Responding to supplementaries, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot said Rs 21 crore worth of funds have been allocated for the survey. He said the number of people turning up at de-addiction centres indicated that the number of addicts was increasing as also the fact that more and more people were being cured.
The minister said the last national survey on the extent, pattern and trend of drug abuse was carried out in 2000-01. The report, which was published in 2004, had said that an estimated 7.32 crore persons were “users” of alcohol and drugs. Of these, 87 lakh used cannabis, 20 used opiates and 6.25 crore used alcohol.
LS ADJOURNED BRIEFLY DUE TO CONG UPROAR
The proceedings of the Lok Sabha were adjourned for nearly 30 minutes amid slogan-shouting by Congress members demanding an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remarks against his predecessor Manmohan Singh.
As soon as the Question Hour began, leader of Congress in the House Mallikarjun Kharge raised the issue but Speaker Sumitra Mahajan refused to entertain his demand during the Question Hour.
Soon, Congress members trooped into the Well raising slogans against the Prime Minister such as “pradhan mantra maafi mango” (PM apologise) and “pradhan mantri sadan mein aao” (PM come to the House).
The Prime Minister was not present as he is touring Ockhi cyclone-hit states in southern India. The Question Hour continued amidst din even as Mahajan threatened Congress MPs that she would ‘name’ them. Naming of a member by the Chair generally leads to disciplinary action.
She said whatever happened in an election campaign should not be used to disrupt the House. “The elections are over and the results are out. I cannot allow you to raise the issue here,” she told the agitating members.
Kharge and NCP’s Tariq Anwar said the issue should not be linked to polls. Newly-elected Congress member Sunil Jakhar said if there
was any truth in Modi’s claim that Singh had conspired with Pakistan to rig the Gujarat poll verdict, the government should file a case against the former Prime Minister.
