Congress lashed out at the law commission recommendation to retain the sedition law, calling it violation of the spirit of the Supreme Court suspending operation of the law and warning that it was a signal of the Centre’s intention to become “more draconian, drastic and deadly” in the run-up to the 2024 general election.

The Opposition party, whose 2019 poll manifesto had promised to repeal the sedition law, also announced it would oppose when the government brings a bill in Parliament based on the commission’s proposals.

“In a terrible, tragic and treacherous development, The law commission has recommended that Section 124A of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) should not only be retained but also made more harsh. The BJP uses the law of sedition as a tool of subverting, subjugating and silencing dissent. The BJP government now plans to become more draconian, drastic and deadly than the colonial regime,” Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said at an All India Congress Committee briefing.

Singhvi argued that the law commission proposal has made the contentious law more stringent. “In a nutshell, the law commission proposal makes the existing sedition law far more draconian, invasive and prejudicial by enhancing the lower end of the punishment from three to seven years,” he said.

“It ignores the spirit of the Supreme Court proceedings in May and October last year which has rendered the entire offence of sedition in the country inoperative and clearly intended it to be repealed/rendered dead later.”

Further, he said, “It has purported to legislate what has always been the law in India for the last 60 years since the Kedarnath judgment in 1962, thereby merely converting judge-made law into legislation without any other dilution or elimination of the sedition offence. It provided no other directly relevant or useful caveat, safeguard or limitation to prevent the continuing and use/misuse of this law in the country since 2014.”