Manoj Jha to bring private members bill in Rajya Sabha against hate speeches

New Delhi [India], July 9 (ANI): Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha will introduce a private members bill in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament to curb hate crimes and hate speeches.
As per the information available with the Rajya Sabha, Jha will introduce the bill in the first week of the session on Friday, a day when private members' business is taken up after lunch. The monsoon session of Parliament will begin on July 18.
The Hate Crimes and Hate Speech (Combat, Prevention and Punishment) bill, 2022, seeks to punish those involved in hate crimes and hate speeches.
Jha told ANI that in the present scenario in the country it is important to talk about legislation like this. "It is unfortunate that in a democracy the essence of democracy has been forgotten in many aspects," he said.
Sources told ANI that the central government is also mulling legislation which will define "hate speech".
There had been protests in different parts of the country over the controversial comments of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
Recently TMC Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra's remarks on Goddess Kali led to controversy. An FIR has been registered in Bhopal against Moitra under section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for hurting religious sentiments. She had referred to Kali "meat-eating" and "alcohol-accepting" Goddess. (ANI)