Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday sparred over a reply in Parliament from the government in which it said there is no proposal to scrap the sedition law.
In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju had on Friday said, "the Ministry of Home Affairs has informed that there is no proposal under consideration to scrap Sec 124A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Further, the question of law regarding Section 124A is pending for adjudication before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India."
He made the reply while responding to a question by AIUDF MP from Assam, Badruddin Ajmal, who had asked whether the Supreme Court has recently termed the sedition law as colonial and whether the apex court has directed Government of India to submit its response on necessity and validity of this law. Ajmal also made an observation that the law is being misused
In his reply, Rijiju had said, "no such observations have been found in any judgment or order delivered by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India."
Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday took potshots at the Law Minister saying what Rijiju did not state was that it has "proposals to book many innocent people under the law."
"The Minister of Law said that MHA has informed him that there is no proposal to repeal the sedition law (Section 124A). What he did not say was that MHA has proposals to book many innocent people under the sedition law!". The law minister also said that there is no record of the Supreme Court making any observations on the sedition law. What he (law minister) did not say was that he does not read newspapers reporting the proceedings of the SC," Chidambaram said.
Hitting back, Rijiju reminded the senior Congress leader "how many thousand sedition cases were slapped on people by the Congress government."
"The Law Minister may not read the newspaper but the Law Minister knows that media reports do not become part of official Depart records. Hon’ble SC is aware of how to make observations & how to pass formal orders!" Rijiju tweeted.