35 bills are lined up for legislation, during this session. In the meanwhile, the Shiv Sena MPs have moved to the opposition benches, in both the houses. In the upper house, it, most likely, counts. >From the 'Scroll':
Three bills to pay attention to: - *The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019: *This proposed law would allow India to fast track citizenship for migrants from neighbouring countries as long as they are not Muslim. It has been sold as a humanitarian move, to help protect minorities in India’s neighbourhood, but would not extend the same privileges to the Rohingya, for example, a persecuted Muslim community in Myanmar, or the Ahmadiyas of Pakistan. In other words, this law expressly creates a religious criterion for those seeking to become an Indian citizen, a position that I believe is both bigoted and unconstitutional <https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fscroll.us7.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3Df11eeab993ed2fbea0bfb512e%26id%3D0cba965caf%26e%3D4580fcfa4f&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHhnqIqC6yw_iB4yJ588mTB5ZOUWQ>. Even if it’s actual on-ground impact for refugees <https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fscroll.us7.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3Df11eeab993ed2fbea0bfb512e%26id%3D819fc629ce%26e%3D4580fcfa4f&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEFYsMhjrsPn7eW6wnXtmNFxjZQRQ>may end up being limited, the effect of Indian laws blatantly discriminating against one religion will not be small. It also gives the government more powers to cancel the registration of Overseas Citizens of India <https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fscroll.us7.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3Df11eeab993ed2fbea0bfb512e%26id%3D31aa84f417%26e%3D4580fcfa4f&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHBv8PnplZPOyCMpLmK_nBxtMhbJA>, which has been in the news of late because of writer Aatish Taseer <https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fscroll.us7.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3Df11eeab993ed2fbea0bfb512e%26id%3D3e36905b41%26e%3D4580fcfa4f&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGc3hDUv6Mf9uT3QUUkM8DH0E_Gcg>. Despite the controversies, though, the Opposition has hardly given any indication that it will stand in the way of the law. - *The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019: *It has been several years since the government promised the Supreme Court that it would pass a data protection law, and more than a year since a committee tasked with looking into the matter came out with a draft Bill <https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fscroll.us7.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3Df11eeab993ed2fbea0bfb512e%26id%3D4c18875763%26e%3D4580fcfa4f&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGd_HtWDwTuDnEj7r00gLVOmE-QSw> . In the meantime, there have been further fears that the government is undermining the privacy of Indian citizens, through everything from Aadhaar to new facial recognition systems <https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fscroll.us7.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3Df11eeab993ed2fbea0bfb512e%26id%3Df80d9f2b37%26e%3D4580fcfa4f&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNE7Qa6iEZ5SbJ5qoXxD9s11Z7_v_Q> and even possibly malware meant to hack <https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fscroll.us7.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3Df11eeab993ed2fbea0bfb512e%26id%3Dc9e1aaaf68%26e%3D4580fcfa4f&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGd_EWfX5oi1fITYctV--x57rOShg> into phones, yet India doesn’t have a law yet <https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fscroll.us7.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3Df11eeab993ed2fbea0bfb512e%26id%3Dbd73c25d7b%26e%3D4580fcfa4f&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHT1M8tzbjTpk6ub5Lu1xqJ5P-Yig>. The proposed Bill has not been seen yet but whatever shape it takes could set a precedent not just for India but for many other countries looking to regulate this space. - *The Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill*: We do not even know if this will be introduced in this session. It was not on the list, but Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government would be looking to increase the current insurance cover for bank deposits <https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fscroll.us7.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3Df11eeab993ed2fbea0bfb512e%26id%3Df8b19195fe%26e%3D4580fcfa4f&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGLyB-RTZHxAU5s9tQxhZdNXAbv0g> from the current Rs 1 lakh. This law, however it comes, is interesting because it was first introduced by the government in 2018, but, quite unusually, had to be withdrawn after the Bharatiya Janata Party lost control of the narrative. WhatsApp groups were abuzz with details of the law that suggested banks could use depositor money as a “bail in”, to prevent themselves from collapsing, spreading fears about the safety of deposits. In the aftermath of the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank fracas <https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fscroll.us7.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3Df11eeab993ed2fbea0bfb512e%26id%3Df1bd5a3858%26e%3D4580fcfa4f&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFxFRKL24lmBHI6rscWt3l5ffW_dw>, how the government sells these changes will be even more significant. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/greenyouth/CACEsOZjq-ECJC9viG-pWyN79-tv-UNF-NBZ0MN2KkXRRGUwg3Q%40mail.gmail.com.
