Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 21 (HBTV): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing "grave concern" over the implementation of three new criminal laws and has urged Modi "to consider at least a deferment of the implementation date." 

The three new criminal laws-- the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023; the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023; and the Bharatiya Sakshaya Adhiniyam 2023—are to replace the Indian Penal Code 1860; the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973; and the Indian Evidence Act 1872. They were ‘notified’ on December 25, 2023 and will come into effect on July 1, 2024. 

In her letter to Modi on Thursday, Banerjee said, ‘I write to you with grave concern regarding the impending implementation of three crucial laws namely the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023; the Bharatiya Sakhsya Adhiniyam 2023; and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023.’

She said three Bills which were passed with absolutely no debate deserve review now.

"If you kindly recall, on the 20th of December last year, the outgoing government of yours had passed these three critical Bills unilaterally, and with absolutely no debate. That day, almost one hundred members of the Lok Sabha had been suspended and a total 146 MPs of the both Houses were thrown out of the Parliament. The Bills were passed in an authoritarian manner in that dark hour of democracy. Matter deserves review now," she added.  

"I urge your esteemed office now to consider at least a deferment of the implementation date. Reasons are two-fold: ethical, and practical," CM Banerjee said. 

(ANI) This is a syndicated news feed. HBTV has edited it for clarity.