Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah, urging him not to rush through the criminal bills scheduled to be placed in the winter session of Parliament as those significant legislations could affect public life in the country in multiple ways.

“I strongly believe that these are very significant legislations that form the bedrock of our penal-criminal jurisprudence. As such, the proposed overhauling of the existing criminal-penal statutes and replacing them with new statutes, is bound to have far-reaching long-term implications on our polity,” the chief minister wrote.

Mamata mentioned in her letter that extreme caution and due diligence were needed before changing the existing statutes as the suggested changes could affect public life.

The chief minister said there should be a thorough discussion with stakeholders like jurists, human rights activists and the general public before going ahead with the bills.

“The suggested changes will also affect the public life of India in multiple ways. Therefore, in my view, extreme caution and due diligence should precede any change in the existing Statutes. This can only be achieved through wide-ranging consultations and discussions with all stakeholders before the Parliament legislates on such issues,” the letter reads.

With the Lok Sabha elections round the corner, it would be fair to allow the new government to take a call on the issue, she said.

“Moreover, the term of the current Lok Sabha is almost coming to an end. In all fitness of things, it would be fair and appropriate that the newly elected members of the ensuing Lok Sabha and the new Government may deliberate upon these extremely important legislations and take a considered view,” the chief minister wrote.

In her letter, she said her government had already examined the bills and the relevant comments of the state government were sent to the Rajya Sabha secretariat.