Rajasthan Congress President Sachin Pilot on Wednesday said his party would move the court if the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government did not withdraw the ordinance that seeks to protect public servants from being investigated.
The ordinance proposes to shield both serving and former judges, magistrates and public servants from being investigated for on-duty action without its prior sanction. It also proposes to ban the media from naming the public servant till the government allows a case to be investigated.
“This kind of ordinance or bill has no place in a democracy,” Pilot told The Hindu. “We do not want a partial roll back, but a complete one. My party and I will approach the courts if the government does not scrap this order.”
The Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Ordinance was tabled in the state Assembly on Monday. But after drawing criticism from several quarters, including two of its own MLAs, the Vasundhara Raje-led government has referred it to a select committee. The government has asked the panel to submit its report in six weeks.
“The fact that the government has sent the bill to a select committee is a victory for the Opposition and the democratic forces, but the BJP government has been very stubborn and arrogant about this whole issue,” Pilot said. The Jaipur Police had temporarily detained Pilot and several party leaders after they participated in a protest against the bill on Monday.
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