President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday gave her nod to four bills for them to become law. The bills include the contentious Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, according to media report.
Despite severe opposition the Delhi Ordinance Bill and the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill were passed in Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha by voice vote.
The Monsoon Session of the Parliament concluded on Friday.
The Delhi Ordinance Bill got President Murmu’s nod to become law on Saturday, NDTV reported. The Delhi services bill that gives the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government the charge of the national capital’s bureaucracy had received severe opposition from the INDIA bloc.
The bill also overrules a Supreme Court decision that noted, after a eight year battle, that the elected Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal led government would take charge of the bureaucracy.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had defended the bill in the parliament and said the bill was necessary to ‘curb the corruption’ of the Kejriwal government’. He had also cited the first prime minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and said that the latter was opposed to granting complete statehood to Delhi.
Notably, opposition MPs had walked out of the parliament when the Delhi ordinance Bill was put to vote. The Bill was passed after a division in which 131 MPs voted in favour of the legislation and 102 against it.
The second, the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill was passed in the Parliament amid loud sloganeering by the Opposition MPs over Manipur ethnic violence. The Bill includes a provision to impose up to ₹ 250 crore penalty for data breaches as it seeks to curb misuse of individuals’ data by online platforms.
The Opposition had stated that the bill would give the Prime Minster Narendra Modi-led central government the status of being surveillant. They also argued that the bill could have serious implication on the fundamental right to privacy of Indian residents.
The third, the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act enables digital birth certificates – thereby making it the only conclusive age proof and can be used as a single document for numerous purposes.
This digital birth certificate will now be valid document for admission to educational institutions, for issuance of driving license, registration of marriage, and appointment to a government job.
The fourth, the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act seeks to promote ease of business by decriminalising minor offences through amendments in 183 provisions of 42 Acts.
The Act converts several fines to penalties, meaning that court prosecution is not necessary to administer punishments. It also removes imprisonment as a punishment for many offences, reported NDTV.
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Updated: 12 Aug 2023, 02:55 PM IST