New Delhi/IBNS: With the opposition reduced to one-third of its strength in the Lok Sabha after the suspension of 95 MPs from the lower house, the Centre has taken up the contentious bills to replace the existing criminal laws for consideration and passage this evening. 

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha in August to replace the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, 1898, the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, respectively.

The bills were later withdrawn and reworked versions of them were introduced in the lower house last week.

The new bills, called the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill, 2023, were taken up for consideration on Tuesday.

After the suspension of a record 141 MPs from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, the opposition has alleged that an "extreme level of dictatorship" is in place in the country and the government wants to "bulldoze" important legislation without any debate.

The MPs were suspended following protests in both Houses of Parliament, demanding a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah and a discussion over the security breach in Lok Sabha last week.

Meanwhile, the government has claimed that the proposed criminal laws are people-centric and their main purpose is to protect the constitutional, human and personal rights of citizens.

Home Minister Amit Shah has said that, unlike the laws brought in during British rule, the three bills aim at providing justice rather than meting out punishment.

The redrafted laws included a change in the definition of terrorism, making it more broad-based. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill now includes the term "economic security", among other changes.