With BNS, India established primacy of justice, says Birla

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday said, “The spirit of the Constitution is to treat all citizens equally.”

Speaking on ‘Parliamentary Action for Social Development and Justice’ during the 150th Assembly of Inter-Parliamentary Union at Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Birla said, “In recent years, the Indian Parliament has passed several legislations that promote social justice, and security and encourage the inclusion of all sections of society.”

He added, “Bills like the ‘Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act-2016’, the ‘Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019’, and the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam-2023’ safeguard the interests of all sections of society.” He also referred to new labour laws and codes passed by Parliament for the welfare and social security of workers in unorganised sector.

Stressing that Indian Parliament has taken several measures prioritising justice and rule of law, Birla said by replacing the Indian Penal Code with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, India had established the primacy of justice.

Referring to the functioning of Parliamentary Committees in achieving the goals of development and social justice, the Lok Sabha Speaker noted that the several Parliamentary Committees, often referred to as Mini Parliaments, perform a complimentary function to the efforts of Parliament and the government. He highlighted that the Committees on Social Justice and Empowerment; Committee on Women Empowerment; Committee on Labour and Skill Development, and other diverse committees monitor welfare programmes leading to implementation of schemes with effectiveness and accountability.

Mentioning the Centre’s health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri - Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), Birla said free health insurance was being provided to the bottom 40 per cent of the population.

He said, “Under PM Modi’s leadership, India has achieved the distinction of being the world’s fastest-growing major economy with a 105 per cent GDP growth over the past decade and is rapidly progressing towards its goal of Viksit Bharat in 2047.” He said India was playing a key role in artificial intelligence, startups, space and defence technology, IT, fintech and pharma.

On the sidelines of the Summit, Birla met Tran Thanh Man, President of the National Assembly of Vietnam.