Congress parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor on Friday said he has introduced the Freedom of Literature Bill in the Lok Sabha with the aim of increasing literary freedom in the country. The bill seeks to remove “outdated provisions which are not congruent with the spirit of democracy, such as the anti-blasphemy and obscenity laws”. “My bill also substantially curbs the power of the government to ban books,” he tweeted.
Tharoor said that apart from this, he has introduced three draft laws – one to punish sports fraud, another on the sexual, reproductive and menstrual rights of women, and a third to amend the Disaster Management Act to permit financial support for rehabilitation and reconstruction.
Tharoor said the Sports (Online Gaming & Prevention of Fraud) Bill aims to penalise fraud in sports. “The increasing commercial nature of sports increases the possibility of manipulating sporting events,” he added. “The bill legalises and regulates online sports betting to address this issue.”
The Congress leader said the Women’s Sexual, Reproductive & Menstrual Rights Bill criminalises marital rape, and recognises women’s right to access sanitary pads. “We must move from ‘No Means No’ to ‘Only Yes Means Yes’,” Tharoor said, talking about consent.
“My bills can only become law if the government agrees to facilitate their enactment in Parliament,” the parliamentarian added. “I have made the effort to draft these bills and put them in the public domain. Now it’s up to the government and the Lok Sabha to pass them.”
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