The Rajasthan Assembly was adjourned till Tuesday after the Congress protested against an Ordinance that bars courts from taking up cases against public servants without government approval. There was chaos soon after the Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Ordinance, 2017, was tabled in the House on Monday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led state has been criticised for bringing in this legislation, which also bars the media from naming the public servant till the government allows the case to be investigated. Under the Ordinance, government gets 60 days to decide whether a court should hear a matter against a public servant.
After the house was adjourned, Congress leader Sachin Pilot and a few party workers were detained for taking to the streets to protest against the Ordinance, reports said. They were detained while heading to the governor’s house in Jaipur.
Pilot told reporters that the Congress will continue to fight against the Ordinance. He called the legislation a blot on India and one that would only promote corruption. On Saturday, he said the Rajasthan government was “institutionalising corruption” with this Ordinance.
On Sunday, the Editors Guild of India urged the Rajasthan government to revoke the Ordinance and instead take “stern measures to prevent and punish those who indulge in false litigation”. The Congress, too, criticised the move – party Vice President Rahul Gandhi felt it was necessary to remind Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje that “it is 2017, not 1817”.
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