New Delhi: The Parliament on Thursday (December 5) saw members of the opposition raise concerns about the “Hindification of laws” during the debate on the Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak Bill, 2024 which was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. The Bill seeks to repeal the Aircraft Act, 1934.
“The government has a penchant for changing names. The Indian penal code has been changed to Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Now the Indian Aircraft Act has been named The Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak. There is a change in name but there is nothing much that is new in the Bill,” said TMC MP Sagarika Ghose.
Ghose said that the government likes to think of itself as a “game-changer government” but it is only a “name-changer government.”
“Why do so many laws have Hindi names? This is imposition of Hindi. The mandate of the people in 2024 was for the diversity dividend and for the federal principle. But the government is persisting in the Hindification of the laws. This is Hindi imposition. Article 348 of the Constitution says any law made by Parliament or the Legislature of a State shall be in the English language,” added Ghosh.
The Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak provides for regulation and control of the design, manufacture, maintenance, possession, use, operation, sale, export and import of aircraft and for matters connected with it. Earlier, the Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha in August.
Apart from TMC MP Ghose, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi N.V.N Somu started her speech by asking the centre to rename the Bill and refrain from naming legislations in Hindi.
“Don’t try to impose Hindi on people who don’t speak Hindi. I request the union government to refrain from naming the Bills in Hindi and Sanskrit,” she said.
Earlier, Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain had said that the name of the Bill should not be in Hindi, as 60 percent of the population does not speak Hindi.
‘No constitutional violations with Hindi name’
In his reply at the close of the debate, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu defended the Hindi title of the Bill and said that there is “nothing to be ashamed of.”
“I understand that the name of the Bill may be a little difficult for some people to pronounce. It might get stuck in the throat, but it is nothing to be ashamed of,” he said.
Naidu urged the members of the opposition to know the intention with which the government has named the title of the Bill in Hindi.
“It is an effort to show India’s culture and legacy. There is no constitutional violation. There might be a feeling that something has been imposed. I am a proud Telugu — I write and speak Telugu…But words like “vayu” (wind) and “Bharat” (India) are the same in Telugu too. It is a mixture of all languages. With colonisation there is a small cocoon that has developed. Now under the leadership of Modi we want to break the cocoon and bring the colours of India out. The text (of the Bill) is there in English,” the minister said.
However, Article 348(1)(b) of the Constitution states that the authoritative texts of (i) all Bills to be introduced or amendments thereto to be moved in either House of Parliament or in the House or either House of the Legislature of a State, (ii) of all Acts passed by Parliament or the Legislature of a State and of all Ordinances promulgated by the President or the Governor of a State, and (iii) of all orders, rules, regulations and bye-laws issued under this Constitution or under any law made by Parliament or the Legislature of a State, shall be in the English language.
Opposition says Bill is ‘old wine in new bottle’
Speaking about the Bill, DMK MP Kanimozhi N.V.N Somu added that it was an “old wine in a new bottle” and alleged that the ministry of civil aviation had lost its duty due to the “aggressive role given to the private players.”
“Tomorrow if there is a crisis, the government will have to beg the private airlines which have become the monopoly in the aviation sector. Only the prime minister and president of India have the luxury of travelling in government aircraft while all others are dependent on the private carriers,” she said.
Speaking on behalf of the central government, Naidu said that the issue which the Centre is trying to address through the Act is how job creation and economic activity can be improved.
“The multiplier effect is that Rs. 1 spent creates Rs. 3. One job that we create in aviation creates 6-15 times jobs in the direct and indirect sector in aviation. That is the potential we have. We create India as a state of design, manufacture. Once we get these terms flowing we will be producing aircrafts not only for the domestic demands of the country but we promote it so other countries also come to us and buy aircrafts made in India. That is the real Atmanirbhar Bharat,” said the minister.
Much like the Aircraft Act, the Bill gives the mandate for overseeing safety and performing regulatory functions to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) for overseeing security, and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) for investigating accidents with the Centre exercising control over these bodies.
According to an analysis by PRS Legislative Research, the Bill introduces a provision for a second appeal against decisions related to the imposition of penalties for violating Rules under it, empowers the government to appoint an arbitrator for determining compensation in certain cases and gives discretion to the central government to specify criminal penalties for violation of certain Rules.
‘Aviation industry is controlled by three-man army of Tata, Indigo and Adani’
Opposition MPs also raised concerns about rising airfares, and the legislation lacking its redressal.
IUML MP Haris Beeran said that the old Act had a provision that included economic regulation, but it was not being implemented.
Beeran said that the provisions in the proposed amendments further delegate responsibility but there is no regulatory capping mechanism for airfare, which should have been included as a legislative mechanism itself.
“You should have included a provision in the new Bill saying that so-and-so authority will have the authority to cap air tariffs but this is missing in this Bill,” said Beeran.
CPI(M) MP A.A. Rahim said that the government has no control over the Indian aviation industry.
“It is controlled by a three-men army – Tata, Indigo and Adani. These three men control the entire aviation sector. Almost all major airports are in Adani’s hands while the skies are dominated by Tata and Indigo,” he said.
“The minister said that the number of airports has doubled but he completely forgot about the uncontrolled airfare hike. Private companies are dictating ticket prices. The 356th Report of the Parliament Standing Committee, I was a member of that committee, had recommended to control airfare and make air transport accessible to the common man. This was a longstanding demand of the entire country. Can you do this? Do you have the courage to regulate the prices? You are making policies for the three-men army,” said Rahim.
CPI MP P. Sandosh Kumar referred to over 25,000 flights being cancelled between January 2022 and September 2024 and said that the Treasury benches had not mentioned the passengers who were the main stakeholders in their speech.
“Instead of praising the government and a personality’s achievements you have to address the concerns of passengers,” he said.
Earlier, speaking during the debate on Tuesday (December 3), AAP MP Raghav Chadha had also highlighted the rising airfares which made air travel a luxury, increasing prices of food and beverages at airports and the lack of compensation for delayed or cancelled flights.
“If there is excess baggage of even 1 kg, airlines charge passengers thousands of rupees but do they compensate us for a flight delay of several hours,” Chadha ha said.
On rising airfares, Centre passes the buck to state governments
Reacting to the opposition’s questions about rising airfares, Naidu said that while concerns have been raised about rising airfares, nowhere in the world is there a regulated aviation sector.
He said that the largest part of the airfare goes towards fuel prices, and the taxes on the fuel is decided by the respective state governments.
“We have been monitoring this issue and we have written to the states. And some states have obliged and some states realised that even if they lose some revenue from this taxing, they are ultimately going to promote aviation so it is a win-win situation and a lot of them have done so. But West Bengal, Delhi and Tamil Nadu carry a very high VAT percentage,” said Naidu.
“Those who have raised these issues from these states I urge them to reduce the VAT, because 45% of fares is fuel prices. So, if you cut down VAT there then definitely it will bring down the prices,” he added.
Naidu said that since airfare is market driven, festive seasons do see an increase in the ticket prices but they are being monitored by the government and airlines have also been sensitised to the issue.
