Mr.
Chairman, Sir, I thank you very much for giving
me this opportunity. The debate on the Compulsory Voting Bill could
not be concluded last time and it was two years back. Now, I have to
continue my remaining speech on this Bill. Sir, we know that
India is a democratic country and our democracy is mature. That is why,
way back in 1950, we included Fundamental Rights in our Constitution.
So, if we see the Constitution of India, Article 19 provides for freedom of
speech and expression. The word ‘expression’ means it is a right to express or100 not to express. So, if we enforce
compulsory voting, then it goes against the mandate of Article 19 of the120 // Constitution of India which specifically
provides that it is within the sweet will of the individual, and
the right to vote or not to vote is a fundamental right of the citizen. At
the same time, if we see Article 21 of the Constitution of India, it says
that no person shall be deprived of his life and liberty
except in accordance with the law. When we see the word ‘liberty’, it
includes the right to vote and not to200
vote. It includes both. So, it cannot be enforced in view of the
mandate of Fundamental Rights which has been provided under Articles 19
and 21 of the Constitution. If such a law is enacted, then it will not240 // withstand the tide of judicial
scrutiny before the court of law.
Mr.
Chairman, Sir, I thank you for giving me the
opportunity to present my party’s views on this Bill. The Bill proposes
to amend the old Acts of 1954 and 1958 and seeks to bring clarity on when
Supreme Court and High Court Judges are300
entitled to an additional quantum of pension or family pension on attaining
a certain age. I appreciate the Bill and the legislative clarification
that this pension benefit to a retired Judge shall be provided from the first
day of the month in which the Judge completes the age specified and not
from the first day of his entering the age360
// specified therein. My Party has no difficulty in supporting this
measure. However, the title of this Bill refers to Salaries and
Conditions of Service of Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts. This
points to other issues that could400
usefully have been addressed in this Bill, issues of far greater
importance to the democratic foundations of our nation. The420 Government should have considered using
this Bill to address and resolve the critical issues of the Judiciary relating
to Conditions of Service such as matters of retirement age of Judges,
particularly High Court Judges, and the implications of that for pendency
of cases in the courts. I would like to ask the Minister whether there
are any plans to increase480 //
the retirement age of the Judges of the High Courts from 62 to 65 years to
bring them500 // on par
with the retirement age of the Supreme Court Judges who retire at 65.
Madam,
Speaker, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to say a few words as
to why we have given the notice for the Adjournment Motion. Madam,
recently the hon. Minister of Finance has said that there is an
increase in the growth rate in the economy. I do not think that there is
any increase in the growth rate in the economy.
There is actually growth of inflation in the country
which is taking place now. It is because of the600
// wrong policies followed by the present Government that
there is an inflationary condition in the economy. The prices of all
the essential commodities have increased. Madam, we have come here to
express the views of the people. It is the highest forum. We are the elected
representatives of the people. We have to express the feelings of the
people. The people are feeling that prices are increasing day by day.
Even if you take the price of salt, it has increased ten times now. This is
the actual condition. Apart from that, the Government has recently
increased the prices of700 petrol,
diesel, kerosene and LPG. The
rate of inflation is also increasing. Madam, the vehicle owners, especially
lorry720 // owners,
have given the notice for strike. This is definitely going to affect the whole
economy. Therefore, I would request the Government to reconsider rolling back
the prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene because it is affecting the
common man.
Mr. Chairman, Sir, I stand here and thank the hon. Minister for bringing this very important Bill to Parliament today. I would like to congratulate my colleague who has surpassed herself in her speech today. It was really one of800 the finest speeches we have heard in the Parliament after a long time. She was very patiently heard by everybody. Many hon. Members have thrown a lot of light on a very serious subject. Sir, I am not a doctor.840 // But I do understand the trauma which a couple goes through. I was just talking to one of my colleagues about the same thing. When such a Bill comes up, it really forces us to think that there is a cross-section of couples or human beings who have such difficulty in having a child. I think having a child is one900 of the happiest moments for any woman in this world. So, I congratulate the hon. Minister for bringing this Bill. But I would like to ask him a few questions and give some suggestions to him. I think this is a very wonderful and one of the finest debates where we have all learnt something new today. I would960 // like to ask the hon. Minister as to how the Surrogacy Bill and this Bill are going to complement each other, because there was one big point which everybody has made and which I would also like to highlight.1000 I am not going to repeat any points which have been made earlier by my colleagues. We all feel that besides the couples who want to have a child, there is a cross-section of single persons in this country today, who also want to have children, especially the third-gender community, and a single father, which I think the earlier speaker talked about. One of the hon. Members has clarified that because of the Adoption Rules, 2007,1080 // single men cannot adopt a girl; and since they cannot adopt a girl, they cannot get any benefit from this1100 Bill. I think, this is something which we need to introspect.
