LS passes Protection of Human Rights(Amendment) Bill 2019, Treasury and opposition parties spar over bill
Indian parliament building is reflected in a puddle after the rain in New Delhi, India July 20, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi - RC17E7A78A00
New Delhi, July. 19 (HS): The Lok Sabha on Friday passed the Protection of Human rights (Amendment) Bill 2019 with the approval of majority of Members of Parliament (MP) voting in favour of the bill.
Union minister of state for Home affairs, Nityanand Rai defended the proposed amendment to the protection of Human rights in the Parliament while several opposition MPs from Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Trinamool Congress (TMC) spoke against the bill and urged the centre to withdraw it and apply modifications suggested.
However, none of the amendments were suggested by the opposition members like TMC member of Parliament (MP), Saugata Roy were accepted by the Lower house.
Defending this bill, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nityanand Rai lauded the Narendra Modi government on its “policies” on human rights.
The minister answered the points raised by opposition one by one and also jested on some arguments raised by the ooposition MPs in his speech in the Parliament house.
Earlier Congress Lok Sabha MP, Shashi Tharoor opposed the bill listing six faults with the amendments suggested in the bill further expressing his concerns that the Indian National Human Rights Commission would not strengthened and it would not live up with the Paris principles.
Tharoor pointed out the failure to provide clarity to the NHRC, the act was completely unclear about the jurisdiction of the NHRC courts, the post of the Director General of NHRC was vacant from the last three years since 2014 until the Supreme Court pulled up the Central; government over the lapse. A hostile government can cripple the constitutuion by not appointing people in the office.
Apart from Congress, DMK MP Kanimozhi too expressed her opposition to the bill raising the fact that if there are “political appointees” included in the NHRC ,it raised doubts over the independence of the NHRC. Lending out her support to the DMK leader was TMC MP Saugata Roy who too opposed the Human Rights Bill 2019.
However, Union minister Satyapal Singh said the Central government was committed to protecting human rights in the country but took a scathing attack at Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) for being “financed by foreign organisations” and supporting “terrorists, anti-nationals and rapists”.
