NEW DELHI: A bill providing for punishment for any insult or obstruction to singing of Vande Mataram will be introduced in Lok Sabha in Parliament’s session starting July 20. The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, cleared by the Union Cabinet earlier, comes after guidelines issued by the home ministry made playing or singing the national song mandatory at official events where national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ is played.Bills listed for introduction in LS include one making the delayed registration of birth and death stringent.Once the prevention of insults to national honour bill is cleared by both LS and RS, the law will make insulting the national song a punishable offence, bringing it among the other high symbols of the republic, like the national anthem; the national flag; and the Constitution, whose insult attracts criminal action.BJP has maintained that past ‘secular’ govts did not accord Vande Mataram, interwoven with the freedom movement, its due place as they relented to objections from a section of Muslims due to the song’s Hindu imagery. There have recently been instances where Vande was allegedly not given due respect by state govt belonging to opposition parties or groups representing minority communities.It would be noteworthy as to how the proposed law describes insult, as several matters related to the slight of Vande have reached courts. Amid intense speculation that govt may bring back the bill for delimitation and implementing women’s reservation in LS and assemblies from 2029 after a united opposition sank it in the last session, a statement from the LS secretariat on the bills to be introduced made no mention of it. The bill can be introduced only after Cabinet’s clearance, with govt sources saying its timing will be firmed up once the session begins.Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, cleared by Cabinet Tuesday, proposes births and deaths reported after two years can be registered only on the order of a first-class judicial magistrate, replacing the existing provision under which approval from a DM, SDM or executive magistrate sufficed.Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill will stamp Parliament’s nod to the ordinance which has increased the strength of judges in SC from 33 to 37. The contentious Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, which was introduced in LS in the last session and drew sharp criticism from opposition for its alleged targeting of funding of NGOs, especially those linked to Christian bodies, and the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to overhaul higher education regulation and is being scrutinised by a parliamentary panel, are among other bills for LS’s consideration and passing.
