Chidambaram's poll promise: ‘Will repeal CAA and three criminal laws’

Chidambaram said that if the INDIA bloc came to power at the Centre, it would repeal CAA and the three criminal laws brought by the BJP government.

Former Union minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday said that the INDIA bloc would repeal CAA and the three criminal laws brought by the BJP government if it comes to power at the Centre. 

Former finance minister P Chidambaram.(HT File)

"We will repeal, amend and review the following sets of laws- CAA 2019 is at the top of the list. The Farmers Produce, Trade and Commerce Promotion of Facilitation Act 2020, the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita that is equivalent to the IPC, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita that is the CrPC and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Act that is the Evidence Act," Chidambaram said.

He added that a specialised legislation to enforce the 'bail is the rule, jail is the exception' principle would also be brought.

“We are promising to bring a special law that would say 'bail is the rule, jail is the exception'.  It was a great son of Kerala, Justice Krishna who emphasised this law,” Chidambaram said in Thiruvananthapuram.

"This rule is rarely followed in the lower judiciary, magistrates, and district judges, ultimately, not everybody can go to the Supreme Court to get bail. 65% of the prisoners are under trial; they are not convicts, so why are they in jail? 90% of the undertrials are OBCs, SC and STs; therefore, we would bring a special law: 'Bail is the rule, jail is the exception'--everybody after the first 15 days of interrogation by police or the CBI must be granted bail," he added.

In its manifesto, the Congress party says, “We promise that all anti-people laws passed by the BJP/NDA without proper parliamentary scrutiny and debate, especially those relating to workers, farmers, criminal justice, environment and forests and digital data protection, will be thoroughly reviewed and changed.”

The CAA enables citizenship to undocumented migrants belonging to six non-Muslim communities who entered India on or before December 31, 2014 and reduces the period to qualify for citizenship from existing 11 years to five years.

(With inputs from ANI)