The primary function of Parliament is to legislate. When we elect people to the Lok Sabha, we are choosing who will write and pass our laws. In India, laws are now passed without debate, both at the Union and the state levels. This means that parties which have a majority and an ideology can legislate what they want without pushback. As we elect MPs for the next five years, let us look at many of the laws and amendments that we have been given in the previous decade:
Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019
This amendment gives the Union the powers to set the salaries and service conditions of information commissioners at the Union as well as state levels. Instead of fixed terms, commissioners can be appointed on arbitrary conditions and salaries. India fell from second place in global RTI ratings in 2014 to ninth place.
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019
Before this amendment, UAPA only allowed organisations to be categorised as “terrorist”. The State can now categorise any individual as a “terrorist”. These individuals need not even have any affiliation with any of the 36 terrorist organisations mentioned in the law to be classified as terrorists and then jailed.
The Karnataka Education Act (1983) Order 2022
In 2022, Karnataka banned Muslim women and girls from covering their heads in schools and colleges that had........