Explained: The legislations that BJP, Congress, DMK and others have promised in manifestos

• A “complete overhaul of the commercial and civil justice systems” — on the lines of the criminal justice reforms which will come into force on July 1 — to ensure legal procedures are made more efficient;
• The implementation of a Uniform Civil Code, “which protects the rights of all women”, a long-term promise of the BJP;
• The “systematic” implementation of reservations for women in Parliament and State Legislatures, as provided in the 128th constitutional amendment (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam);
• The strengthening of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority Act, introduced in 2016, to make the real estate sector “more transparent and citizen friendly than ever before”;
• Bringing in an “unprecedented” increase in MSP for major crops, which will then continue to be raised “from time to time”;
• The formulation of a ‘National Litigation Policy’ so that cases can be resolved quickly and at a lower cost, and also decreasing the number of cases where the government is a party so that the court’s burden is reduced;
• To carry out the complete digitisation of court records by accelerating the e-Courts Mission Mode Project, and establish fast track courts to dispose of pending cases in “identified areas”;
• Removing the implementation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 in “disturbed areas” in a phased manner; and
• Developing Legal Standards to protect cultural intellectual property by collaborating with international organisations like the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Indian National Congress

Among the five parties discussed in this piece, the Congress has promised to enact the widest array of new laws if voted in power. These include laws and amendments targeted towards:

• Providing reservations in private educational institutions for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes;
• Combatting discrimination faced by oppressed communities in educational institutions, entitled the ‘Rohith Vemula Act”;
• Providing compulsory and free education from Class I to XII in public schools;
• Removing gender discrimination and bias in all laws;
• Recognition of civil unions for couples belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community;
• Criminalising violent acts against doctors and health professionals “while performing their duties”;
• Providing one year apprenticeships to all diploma holders and college graduates (below 25 years) in public and private companies, entitled the Right to Apprenticeship Act;
• Guaranteeing the announcement of Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for farmers every year in line with the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission;
• Protecting the rights and enhancing the social security provided to gig workers and workers in the unorganised sector;
• Regulating the employment of domestic help and migrant workers to ensure basic legal rights;
• Introducing a law on bail that applies to all criminal laws based on the principle ‘bail is the rule, jail is the exception’;
• Curbing monopolies in the media and control of media by business organisations;
• Preserving internet freedom and preventing “arbitrary and frequent” shutdowns;
• Clamping down on defection from political parties by making defection lead to an automatic disqualification from membership in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies;
• Ensuring transparency and clarity in tax administration through a new Direct Taxes Code;
• Introducing a new GST taxation regime with “a single, moderate rate (with a few exceptions) that will not burden the poor”;
• Amending the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 to declare that the Lieutenant Governor of the NCT of Delhi shall act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers;
• Raising the 50% cap on reservations and ensure that the 10% reservations for Economically Weaker Sections are extended to all castes and communities;
• Providing 33% reservations for women from 2025 onwards instead of accepting “sinister” provisions in the Constitution (106th) Amendment Act which would delay the reservation to “beyond 2029”;
• “Encouraging” reforms in personal laws “with the participation and consent of the communities concerned,” although Congress has remained silent on the enactment of a Uniform Civil Code;
• Restoring full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir;
• Amending the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to include tribal areas of Ladakh;
• Consulting the Supreme Court, and establish a National Judicial Commission for the appointment of High Court and Supreme Court judges; and
• Creating two divisions of the SC — a constitutional court to hear cases involving the interpretation of the Constitution, and a court of appeal to hear cases arising from Tribunals and High Courts.

Communist Party of India (Marxist)

The CPI(M) has promised to repeal what it considers “draconian” laws, bring in greater legal protections for minorities, and introduce legislation aimed towards achieving greater socio-economic equity in the country. Its manifesto promises to:

• Repeal anti-conversion laws in various states;
• Work towards “scrapping” the Citizenship Amendment Act;
• Enact a law against lynching and introduce “appropriate legal measures for reining in and taking action against organisations and institutions involved in spreading communal hate and attacking minorities”;
• Repeal “draconian” laws such as Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the National Security Act (NSA) and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA);
• Replace the PMLA with “suitable law to prevent misuse”, and take away the Enforcement Directorate’s law-enforcement powers;
• Replace Article 356 which allows ‘President’s Rule’ to be imposed in states under certain circumstances, with “a suitable provision”;
• Introduce a tax on the “super-rich”, a general wealth tax, and an inheritance tax.
• Enforce farmers’ right to sell their produce at an MSP which will be at least 50% higher than the cost of production incurred by the farmer;
• Introduce a statutory minimum wage for workers of “not less than Rs. 26,000 a month”;
• Introduce a new law to guarantee employment in urban areas, along with an unemployment allowance;
• Assure 200 days of work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA);
• Stand for a law for reservations in private section jobs and educational institutions for SCs, STs, and OBCs;
• Fight to restore full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, and immediately conduct State Assembly elections;
• Act strictly against hoarding and black-market sale of essential commodities by strengthening the Essential Commodities Act;
• Introduce a law on the appointment of Governors to ensure that Governors will be appointed by the President from a three person panel proposed by the Chief Minister of a state.
• Introduce a law for universal social security coverage (pension, life insurance, maternity and childcare benefits etc.) for unorganised workers;
• Restore the Working Journalists Act to ensure decent wages and job security in print, digital and electronic media organisations;
• Create a National Judicial Commission for the appointment and transfer of SC and HC judges;
• Amend the CEC and Other ECs (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act so that EC members will be recommended by a committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India; and
• Bar Election Commissioners from “enjoying any office” under the Government or as a Governor after their retirement.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

The DMK claims to be “the first party in India to have created a tradition of publishing a manifesto before every General Election”. In terms of legislations and judicial reforms, the party’s promises include:

• Striking down Article 361 of the Constitution, to remove the special exemption granted to Governors against legal action before the court;
• Abolishing Article 356 “which allows the dissolution of duly elected state governments by President’s Rule”;
• Repealing the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019;
• Preventing the introduction of the Uniform Civil Code;
• Establishing a branch of the Supreme Court in Chennai to improve access to justice;
• Restoring full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir — which became a Union Territory following the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 — and conducting democratic elections in the state.
• Granting statehood to Puducherry, currently a Union Territory;
• Making Tamil an official language in the Madras High Court and Union Government offices in the state.
• Amending the Right to Education Act to provide “Free, quality, mandatory, child-friendly education” to all children in their mother tongue till 12th grade.
• Ensuring 50% reservation for Backward and Most Backward communities and abolishing the Creamy Layer;
• Immediately implement 33% reservation for women in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies;
• Enacting a law to provide menstrual leave to women;
• Enacting a law to safeguard the rights and minimum wages of domestic workers;
• Enacting a law to prevent child trafficking for work, marriage, sexual exploitation, and organ trade, with appropriate legal investigation mechanisms established; and
• Increasing the number of working days that are provided under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) from 100 to 150;
• Enacting a law to protect the Western Ghats; and
• Adopting the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee to ensure MSP for agricultural products is 50% higher than the production cost.

Trinamool Congress

The manifesto’s opening “appeal” penned by Mamata Banerjee expresses the TMC’s commitment to work for “Maa, Mati, Manush” (Mother, Land and People), secure the rights of the people in the state of West Bengal and “lead the nation towards transformative change”. TMC’s promises include:

• Introducing a bill to rename West Bengal to ‘Bangla’ (this proposal was rejected by the Centre in 2018);
• Legally guaranteeing MSP to farmers at 50% higher than the average cost of production;
• Withdrawing cases registered against farmers during the farmers’ protests;
• Abolishing the “botched up” Citizenship Amendment Act and disctontinuing the National Register of Citizens;
• Not implementing the Uniform Civil Code;
• Amending the 10th Schedule to make the Anti-Defection law more “explicit” and immediately applicable;
• Abolishing political interference in “key Government institutions” such as the CBI and ED by amending their respective Acts;
• Bring the PM CARES Fund under the purview of the Right to Information Act by classifying it as a “public authority”;
• Amending the Border Security Forces Act to reduce the jurisdiction in West Bengal to 15 km along the border from 50 km, and establishing an independent oversight committee to investigate allegations of misuse of force against innocent citizens during peacetime;
• Repealing the CAA and opposing the imposition of the Uniform Civil Code;
• Ensuring that appointment of judges to the higher judiciary is overseen to ensure that they are done on the basis of “merit and eligibility”, and that the evaluation criteria and deliberations are made public;
• Instituting a mandatory three-year “cooling off period” for judges after retirement, before they can accept Government appointments or political positions;
• Establishing 766 fast-track courts (1 in every district of India) to tackle the backlog of cases dealing with crimes against women and offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act; and
• Introducing a new Digital Liberties Bill to secure the citizens’ personal data, outlaw the use of surveillance technology, and prevent the imposition of internet shutdowns.