Express News Service
Poll PreparationsBihar moves first to stitch Team India seat pact
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is started talking about seat-sharing. Sources said a broad understanding has emerged among the opposition alliance’s main constituents in Bihar over the seats they would contest. However, there is some friction over three or four Lok Sabha seats out of total 40. The two main constituents of INDIA in the state – chief minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and Lalu Yadav’s RJD — will contest 15 seats each, leaving the remaining 10 seats for the Congress and the Left parties. The Congress wants to contest eight seats. It has laid claim to Navada, Madhubani, Katihar, Aurangabad, Kishanganj, Sasaram, Supaul and Begusarai.
The CPI(ML), which has emerged as the largest Left party in Bihar, wants two seats — Arrah and Siwan. But sources said it may get only one. One will go to CPI. The CPI wants Begusarai, but Congress has claimed the seat for Kanhaiya Kumar, president of Youth Congress and previously president of the JNU students’ union. The JD(U) has 16 sitting MPs from Bihar, and the RJD has none. The RJD, however, has more MLAs than the JD(U). The two parties have, therefore, decided to contest an equal number of seats.
Election 2024BJP may put UCC on the back-burner, play up IPC, CrPC
Union home minister Amit Shah met BJP members of the Standing Committee on Home Affairs last Thursday and asked them to thoroughly study the three new bills he brought to replace the IPC, CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act. The BJP MPs were told to widely publicise the provisions of the new bills, besides expediting the finalisation of the committee report for passage in the winter session of Parliament. The bills were tabled in Parliament in the monsoon session and referred to the Standing Committee. Sources said the BJP MPs were informed that the stringent provisions in the new bills would rein in the ‘tukde tukde gang’ and the ‘love jehadis’ and give wide-ranging powers to the police, including extended custody of arrested persons, seizure of electronic and digital devices and evidence, attachment of perceived proceeds of crime, etc to deal with ‘anti-national’ elements. In this context, their attention was drawn to the new provision to criminalise the sexual exploitation of women by hiding identity and broadening the definition of sedition.
The IPC Section 124A, dealing with sedition, stands repealed. Instead, a new Section 150 is being introduced. Section 150 reads as follows: “Whoever, purposely or knowingly, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or by electronic communication, or by use of financial means, or otherwise, excites or attempts to excite, secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities, or encourages feelings of separatist activities or endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India; or indulges in or commits any such act shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.” The use of open-ended terms such as “excites”, “attempts to excite”, (encourages) “feelings” (of separatist activities) and “subversive activities” gives the new law more teeth than the previous one. Sources said the BJP leadership is contemplating putting the Uniform Civil Code on the backburner and using the bills to bring the issue of national security to the centre stage.
Poll Preparations
Bihar moves first to stitch Team India seat pact
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is started talking about seat-sharing. Sources said a broad understanding has emerged among the opposition alliance’s main constituents in Bihar over the seats they would contest. However, there is some friction over three or four Lok Sabha seats out of total 40. The two main constituents of INDIA in the state – chief minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and Lalu Yadav’s RJD — will contest 15 seats each, leaving the remaining 10 seats for the Congress and the Left parties. The Congress wants to contest eight seats. It has laid claim to Navada, Madhubani, Katihar, Aurangabad, Kishanganj, Sasaram, Supaul and Begusarai.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
The CPI(ML), which has emerged as the largest Left party in Bihar, wants two seats — Arrah and Siwan. But sources said it may get only one. One will go to CPI. The CPI wants Begusarai, but Congress has claimed the seat for Kanhaiya Kumar, president of Youth Congress and previously president of the JNU students’ union. The JD(U) has 16 sitting MPs from Bihar, and the RJD has none. The RJD, however, has more MLAs than the JD(U). The two parties have, therefore, decided to contest an equal number of seats.
Election 2024
BJP may put UCC on the back-burner, play up IPC, CrPC
Union home minister Amit Shah met BJP members of the Standing Committee on Home Affairs last Thursday and asked them to thoroughly study the three new bills he brought to replace the IPC, CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act. The BJP MPs were told to widely publicise the provisions of the new bills, besides expediting the finalisation of the committee report for passage in the winter session of Parliament. The bills were tabled in Parliament in the monsoon session and referred to the Standing Committee. Sources said the BJP MPs were informed that the stringent provisions in the new bills would rein in the ‘tukde tukde gang’ and the ‘love jehadis’ and give wide-ranging powers to the police, including extended custody of arrested persons, seizure of electronic and digital devices and evidence, attachment of perceived proceeds of crime, etc to deal with ‘anti-national’ elements. In this context, their attention was drawn to the new provision to criminalise the sexual exploitation of women by hiding identity and broadening the definition of sedition.
The IPC Section 124A, dealing with sedition, stands repealed. Instead, a new Section 150 is being introduced. Section 150 reads as follows: “Whoever, purposely or knowingly, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or by electronic communication, or by use of financial means, or otherwise, excites or attempts to excite, secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities, or encourages feelings of separatist activities or endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India; or indulges in or commits any such act shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.” The use of open-ended terms such as “excites”, “attempts to excite”, (encourages) “feelings” (of separatist activities) and “subversive activities” gives the new law more teeth than the previous one. Sources said the BJP leadership is contemplating putting the Uniform Civil Code on the backburner and using the bills to bring the issue of national security to the centre stage.
