Of all those acts and laws...

A look at some of the controversial or much-talked about laws passed by the BJP Government or rulings by the Apex Court:

1.   On September 6, 2018, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was quashed by the SC, effectively decriminalising private homosexual activity. It’s a Rainbow nation! Brilliant! In other words, if you don’t get a ‘p……’, fret not, there are options in the offing.

2.   On September 27, 2018, the colonial-era law on adultery, that prescribed a maximum five-year imprisonment for men, was struck down by SC. Though the offence remains a valid ground for divorce, it no longer is crime to ‘f…….’ around 'even if' you are married. Wow!

3.   Article 370 + Article 35A that gave Special status to Kashmir were revoked. Now Kashmir is part of the Indian Union without the ‘ifs and buts’.

4.   The Triple Talaq – 'The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937' that legalised Triple Talaq also called as ‘Instant Divorce’ by some (you know who), was struck down. On July 30, 2019, ‘Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act – 2019’ was passed in the Parliament making Triple Talaq a criminal offence.

5.   In July 2019, the ‘RTI Amendment Act 2019’ was passed. The Narendra Modi Government did away with the fixed tenure (five years) of the Chief Information Commissioner and the Information Commissioners, paving the way for their effective 'arm-twisting'. To add to their misery, their salaries too have been altered. The move was reminiscent of the Government's treatment of the Reserve Bank of India and the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission (Yojana Āyog) is long gone and in it's place one finds NITI Aayog.

6.   The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019 – In July-August this year, the Modi Government passed this law under which individuals can be declared as terrorists and their properties seized. The Act also facilitates a travel ban on such individuals. In a first, the law vested powers on the Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to attach properties of such individuals. Earlier, the NIA was forced to take prior permission from the respective state police chiefs if it were to consider that move.

7.   The Ayodhya Verdict – On November 9, the Supreme Court ordered the disputed land (2.77 acres) to be handed over to a trust (to be created by Government of India) to build the Ram Janmabhoomi temple. The court also ordered the government to give an alternate 5 acres of land at another place to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque.

8.   The Citizenship Amendment Act - 2019 – On December 11, 2019, the CAA was passed. It amended the Citizenship Act of 1955 paving the way for Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian religious minorities that had fled persecution from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before December 2014, to avail India citizenship. In a first, the Act excludes Muslims, so the Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar and entering Indian shores, would as expected, be deported. In 2003, amendments to this act were carried out by the NDA Government that prohibited illegal migrants from obtaining Indian citizenship. The law also provided provisions for deportation.

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NRC – On November 19, 2019, Home Minister Amit Shah, declared in the Rajya Sabha that the NRC will be implemented throughout the country.

NPR - On December 24, 2019, the Union Cabinet approved ₹3,941 crores (US$570 million) (wiki info) for updating the National Population Register (NPR). It is widely billed as one of the first steps in implementing the NRC even though the top-brass of the BJP has denied it. The NPR is scheduled to take place in April 2020 throughout India (except Assam). 

Not to forget the ill-effects of 2016 banknote demonetisation (notebandi) and the GST that came next year, are still being felt.

(The article has been written using various sources including Wikipedia. It was first published on January 1, 2020 on my LinkedIn page)

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