NEW DELHI, DEC 23: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah, inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for various development projects worth Rs. 368 crore in Chandigarh today.
The event, attended by dignitaries included the Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh Banwarilal Purohit and the Union Home Secretary, marked the commencement of nine projects totaling Rs. 368 crore, while the foundation stone for three projects worth Rs. 32 crore was laid.
During the inauguration, Amit Shah highlighted the significant legislative achievements of the Modi government. He noted that just yesterday, the Parliament, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, passed three landmark bills that promise transformative changes to the criminal justice system in the country.
Shah emphasised the importance of these laws, designed to align the justice system with the spirit of the Indian Constitution. He underscored the need for infrastructure to support the latest technologies and ensure seamless connectivity across various components of the legal system, from police stations to courts, jails, forensic labs, prosecutor’s offices, and secretariats.
The Home Minister further elaborated on the comprehensive nature of these laws, emphasizing that they were formulated after extensive consultations with stakeholders and scrutiny by the standing committee of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Shah outlined the commitment of the Modi government to implementing these laws, aiming for the disposal of any criminal case within three years.
Shah said that even before implementing these laws, the Modi government has already completed the work of connecting 99.93 per cent police stations, i.e., 16,733 police stations, of the country online and they are functioning with a single software. Home Minister added that 22 thousand courts of the country have become e-courts, data of two crore prisoners of the country are online through e-prisons, data of more than 1 crore prosecutions are online through e-prosecution and 17 lakh forensic details are also online through e-forensics.
Shah said that along with this, more than 90 lakh fingerprint data, Integrated Monitoring of Terrorism (iMOT), data of arrested narco offenders, data of National Database of Human Trafficking Offenders are available online. Besides, by linking the Crime Multiagency Center with it, the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and biometric data of prisoners have also been prepared. After this, the task is to decide the language of communication between them, bring communication software and analyze it using artificial intelligence to crack down on terrorism and crime in the country.
Expressing disappointment with the opposition’s decision to boycott the discussion on these bills, Shah criticized their behaviour during parliamentary debates.
“When three laws, that would bring radical changes in the criminal justice system, were being debated in the country’s Parliament, the opposition members were doing the condemnable act of mimicking the Vice President,” Shah said. He urged the public to recognise the sanctity of constitutional posts and stressed the government’s commitment to upholding their honour.
Earlier during the inauguration ceremony in Chandigarh, Shah highlighted the various development projects initiated, emphasizing their collective cost of around 400 crores. He announced the appointment of 744 youths as Assistant Sub Inspectors and Constables, along with the flagging off of vehicles for Chandigarh’s safety. The Home Minister commended Chandigarh Police for successfully implementing the ground-level beat concept and recognized the innovative solutions presented by teams during the hackathon.
On this occasion, Amit Shah said that today 9 projects worth Rs. 368 crore inaugurated and the foundation stone of 3 projects worth Rs. 32 crore laid. He said that Chandigarh is a complete city built with modern imagination. Shah said that due to the efforts of the Central Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, many cities are moving forward and Chandigarh will have to prove itself in this competition and will have to work a lot to maintain the first position.
“Today teams which attained first, second and third position are rewarded. Through this, youths across the country will be inspired to use their knowledge to solve the problems of the country,” Shah added. Home Minister said that the Cyber Operation and Security Centre (CENCOPS) have also been inaugurated today.
He said that the Modi government has already started this work through CCTNS and ICJS. Shah said that a detailed time-bound program will be made to prepare Chandigarh for full implementation of these laws. He said that there will be a time bound programme will be prepared to implement the definition of terrorism and organized crime, formation of Directorate of Prosecution, giving stability to forensics and filling loopholes in ICJS and CCTNS. He said that meeting in all Union Territories will be held before January 31, 2024 to fully prepare them by December 22, 2024 to implement these laws.
Home Minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is committed to running its criminal justice system with Indian thought. He said that India’s criminal justice system is also ready to jump straight from the 19th century into the 21st century. Shah said that after the implementation of these laws, our criminal justice system will become the most modern criminal justice system in the world.
