New Delhi: A bill seeking to amend the six-decade-old Arms Act and limit arms licence holders to keeping just one weapon, among others, is facing opposition from MPs cutting across party lines. The Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2019, introduced in the Lok Sabha last Friday, also states that from now on a person can apply for just one arms licence.
The bill was set to come up for discussion and passing in the lower house Tuesday but wasn’t taken up and is likely to be discussed Wednesday.
One of the provisions of the bill states that those who own more than one firearm will have to deposit the rest with authorities within 90 days. The authorities, according to the bill, can either be the local police station or an authority mandated by law. The excess guns will be stored by the authorities and the licensees can access them but at any point, they can possess only one weapon.
The Modi government has also proposed to enhance punishment from 14 years to life imprisonment for the manufacturing, selling, repairing and possessing ‘prohibited’ arms and has proposed a two-year term for those who indulge in celebratory firing at weddings and religious functions.
The MPs are particularly against the government’s decision to limit licences and are citing security issues and the ‘sensitive locations’ of their regions.
“Most of the provisions of this bill are necessary but restricting the possession of firearms to just one is not based on reality,” said the Congress’ Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla.
“Punjab is a border state neighbouring Pakistan. People have to be safe and secure if there is an attack from across the border. People will have to visit the local police station to get their deposited firearms,” he added.
“People live in deras and the fields with just one firearm; the rest are kept at home for the safety of the others,” Aujla said. “How will it be possible to stay safe with just one weapon?”
A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Rajya Sabha MP, who has been expelled from his party, also said the provision should not apply to those living in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir as it is a border region. “This provision will endanger public life in J&K as it is a border region,” he said. “There should not be restrictions on the possession of licenced firearms in border regions.”
Some MPs with a royal lineage are opposing the provision as they say some of their guns are antiques and prized possessions.
“Many people with licensed arms have inherited them from their families. They are prized possessions,” said the BJP Rajya Sabha MP Harshvardhan Singh Dungarpur, who is a member of the erstwhile royal family of Dungarpur in Rajasthan.
“The guns are heritage items and not used altogether. If they are destroyed in the possession of the authorities who will foot the bill?” he asked.
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Amarinder writes to Modi
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising concerns over the bill. In his letter sent last week, Amarinder said that being a border state, Punjab has gone through a phase of terrorism and sought exemption from the provision.
“If some states need to reduce the number of licenced weapons, they should be allowed without discriminating other states,” his letter states.
Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy, however, told ThePrint that the bill isn’t limited to just licensed firearms.
“It is broader in its agenda and seeks to enhance the punishment for those who run illegal guns factories, extremists snatching guns from police, those involved in organised crime syndicates and illicit trafficking of prohibited arms and those who indulge in rash and celebratory firing,” Reddy said.
The bill also seeks to extend the period of an arm licence from three to five years. It has proposed new offences, including anything between 10 years and life imprisonment for those who snatch weapons from the police or the armed forces. The bill has also called for a two-year term for celebratory firing. According to the bill, celebratory gunfire refers to the use of weapons in public gathering, religious places, marriages and other functions.
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