One Nation One Election: From Maharashtra to J-K, parliamentary panel to go on 4 ‘study tours'
'The study tours will begin on May 17. We will cover Maharashtra on May 17-18. Then, Dehradun (Uttarakhand) from May 19 to May 21. We will cover the state of Uttarakhand,' P P Chaudhary, the chairperson of the committee, said on Tuesday, ahead of the panel's seventh meeting.
'In June, we will cover J-K and Ladakh as well. People from far-off places can also come in front of the committee. And then, we will go to Chandigarh and we will be covering a Union Territory and will cover Haryana and Punjab as well,' he added.
Chaudhary said that in a democracy, differences of opinion are good. 'Everyone has their opinion. There could be different opinions in the committee, too. One time will come when all the members will agree to it because all the leaders think for the nation and will agree for the nation's interest,' he said ahead of Tuesday's meeting.
The two Bills, called the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, were introduced in the Lok Sabha by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on December 17, 2024, and referred to the joint committee.
The last meeting of the panel on March 25 had seen Attorney General R Venkatramani and former Delhi High Court chief justice D N Patel tell the committee that the Bills do not go against the Constitution, with Justice Patel saying that they could undergo some changes.
On March 11, former Chief Justice of India and Rajya Sabha member Ranjan Gogoi had cautioned the committee on the constitutional validity of some provisions of the Bills.
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Indian Express
35 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘MVA failure to oppose Urban Naxal Bill in Assembly sent wrong message, it must hit streets now': CPI(M)'s Dhawale
The smooth passage of the Maharashtra Special Public Security (MSPS) Bill in the state Assembly recently saw the members of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes the Congress, NCP(SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT), failing to even express their dissent against the legislation dubbed as 'Urban Naxal Bill', which seeks 'effective prevention of certain unlawful activities of Left-wing extremist organisations'. The only dissenter from the Opposition ranks on the floor of the House was CPI(M) MLA Vinod Nikole. The Bill's critics have warned that it grants sweeping powers to the State that could criminalise dissent and ideological activity under the pretext of curbing Naxalism, raising fears of arbitrary arrests. In an interview with The Indian Express, CPI(M) Politburo member and All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) chief Ashok Dhawale says the MSPS Bill marks a 'direct assault on democratic rights and civil liberties', calling the MVA MLAs' silence in the House 'unfortunate'. Excerpts: The CPI(M) has come out strongly against the MSPS Bill. Could you explain the reasons behind your opposition? We are completely opposed to this Bill. At its core, it is a direct attack on democratic rights and civil liberties. The government is using the so-called 'urban Naxal' threat as a red herring, an excuse to target dissent and silence critics of the ruling BJP and their corporate backers. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has publicly stated that the Naxal issue in Maharashtra is confined to just two tehsils in Gadchiroli. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also has publicly stated that the Naxalite Maoist problem has largely been eliminated nationwide. So, the question arises if the threat is under control, why this new law now? The government claims it is a security measure. Are you saying there is more to it? This law is not about security, it is about silencing voices. There are already enough draconian laws in place — UAPA at the national level, and MCOCA in Maharashtra. Some provisions in this new Bill are even more draconian than UAPA. So clearly, it's not about lack of legal tools. We believe this is being brought in to suppress growing people's movements in the state like the farmers fighting against land acquisition for the Shaktipeeth Highway, or resistance to corporate-led projects in Dharavi, Wadhwan port, and areas like Gadchiroli and Chandrapur. These projects, pushed by big corporates, especially mining projects in districts like Gadchiroli and Chandrapur for which land acquisition process has started, often violate forest and land rights. The Bill is a tool to criminalise these legitimate struggles. While you have criticised the Mahayuti government, several of your own allies in the MVA have been criticised for not opposing the Bill. What is your take? The record of the MVA who are our allies has been mixed. I would describe what happened in the Assembly as unfortunate. However, to be fair, several top MVA leaders joined earlier protests against this Bill. On June 3, there was a massive dharna at Azad Maidan, and leaders like Supriya Sule, Jayant Patil, and Uddhav Thackeray were present where they were categorical about their opposition to the Bill. On April 22, nearly 50,000 people protested against this Bill across Maharashtra. Though that was a Left-led call, many MVA leaders joined in solidarity. However, we were disappointed that when the Bill was introduced in the Assembly, only our MLA Vinod Nikole of the CPI(M) stood up to oppose it. Not a single MLA from the MVA bloc spoke out. On the same day we had an online meeting with NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil and we raised this issue with him. We were told that several MVA MLAs who were part of the Select Committee had already opposed the Bill in that House Committee. But we believe that not opposing it on the Assembly floor sent the wrong message. It has not gone down well with the people of the state. To their credit, the very next day in the Legislative Council, the MVA rectified this mistake, where they unitedly opposed the Bill and walked out in protest. That act did some damage control, and we welcomed it. What are your expectations from the MVA now? And, are you planning to take any legal recourse against the Bill? Of course, we will examine legal options, but we are realistic. Generally, courts do not interfere in legislative processes. So we are not placing much emphasis on legal challenges. The real battle is on the streets. The farm laws passed by Parliament were ultimately repealed through mass struggle. Similarly, if we want to defeat this draconian Bill, we need a broad-based, united mass movement. We are trying to bring all forces together to make that happen. Speeches alone will not see the end of this Bill. We, including the major constituents of the MVA, will need to hit the streets. We are trying to persuade them. Let us see what happens. Would you like some provisions of the Bill to be diluted, or you want the bill to be repealed? The government had called for suggestions and objections to this Bill and it received 12,500 suggestions. Out of these, 9000 suggestions sought a complete scrapping of the Bill while another 3,000 called for amendments. We believe that the Bill in its entirety is harmful for the citizens of the state. We are not protesting so that the government tweak this law — we want it to be thrown out entirely.
New Indian Express
38 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Minorities won't believe Vijay — he was silent during CAA, 370, triple talaq: Salma
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I've been considering writing a novel that deals with certain sensitive topics. And while thinking about it, the idea of using a different name and going anonymous crossed my mind. There's a certain courage that anonymity offers. When you write under your real name, people who know you tend to judge or misunderstand you based on the content, regardless of the intention behind it. A few years before the death of Kamala Surayya, I had the opportunity to visit her in Kerala, thanks to a friend. She was under police protection in her own home. During our conversation, she said something that stayed with me: 'Writers write to sense freedom, but my writing has curbed my freedom.' She also said she felt lonely — that she couldn't see or find people like her anymore. That sense of isolation weighed on her deeply. We've all witnessed how writers around the world have been arrested for their writing. So, this fear isn't abstract; it's real and close. 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Is there any chance he gets the votes? Minorities always vote for the DMK. The pattern has changed only once, that I know of. Because no one can forget the 3.5% reservation (for Muslims and Christians) introduced by Kalaignar. This helped them to get employment and education. He is standing alone to target minority votes; he knows it won't happen if he is with the AIADMK-BJP alliance. We don't know who is behind him contesting alone. But minorities won't believe him. You should have done something before, and they must believe you will do something for them again. The CAA protests turned the country upside down. If he has true concern for the minorities, he could have spoken in favour of them. Even recently, there were several atrocities against Muslims in North India. But he has not spoken against anything. He has not spoken when Triple Talaq or abrogation of Article 370 became issues. Suddenly, if he says he will save Muslims, it is not believable. The BJP is responsible for all these atrocities. At least he should criticise the BJP, but that is also not happening. He is only targeting the DMK. So, minorities won't believe him. I think only 5,000 people came for the protest in Chennai (against custodial violence). Minorities will think about who has done things for them. They won't support an actor. In many movies, he has also depicted Muslims badly, showing Muslims as terrorists. These will blow up during the elections. (On the other hand), MGR (late AIADMK founder and CM M.G. Ramachandran) was part of the DMK; he went to the field with cadres. (Late CM) J. Jayalalithaa took over AIADMK — she didn't start a separate party and come on her own to capture power. As far as Vijay is concerned, if we take field-level politics, he is not out there yet. You can't identify a leader without him coming to the field. I agree that Vijayakant (late DMDK founder) is one actor who people voted for. But that has ended.
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
MGNREGS job cardholders have to complete e-KYC verification within three months: Odisha minister
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