Simultaneous polls, Waqf amendment critical issues: President Murmu

New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) President Droupadi Mumru on Friday listed simultaneous polls and amendments to the Waqf law as "critical issues" on which the Narendra Modi government has made "swift progress" and described the law on reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies as a a significant step in empowering women.

In her address to the joint sitting of Parliament at the beginning of the Budget session, she said the government has made "swift progress on critical issues like 'one nation, one election' and the Waqf Act amendment." The bill that lays down mechanism to hold simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies is being examined by a joint committee of Parliament.

A separate joint committee of the two Houses on Thursday submitted its report to the Lok Sabha Speaker, paving the way for the government to bring amendments to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill introduced in the lower house last year.

"My government firmly believes in empowering the nation through women-led development. The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (women's reservation Act), which provides (33 per cent) reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, is a significant step in this direction," she told the MPs.

She also referred to the decade-long exercise of the government to weed out irrelevant statutes.

"The government has conducted an extensive review of laws enacted before the Constitution came into force. Many laws are being repealed or amended to ensure that the entire system can meet the current social and economic challenges," Murmu said.

So far, the government has repealed more than 1,500 obsolete laws, the president pointed out.

By removing colonial-era laws, a ‘Nyaya Sanhita’ has been introduced in place of the Penal Code, she recalled. PTI NAB NAB DV DV

Source: PTI