Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs Ghanshyam Tiwari and Narpat Singh Rajvi have come out in opposition to an Ordinance issued by the Rajasthan government, which seeks to shield both serving and former judges, magistrates and public servants in the state from being investigated for on-duty action without its prior sanction.

The Ordinance also bans the media from naming the public servant till the government allows a case to be investigated.

Speaking to CNN-News18, the two elected representatives said the Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Ordinance, 2017, was unconstitutional.

In a letter to Rajasthan Home Affairs Minister Gulab Chand Kataria, Tiwari urged him to reconsider the decision. It would be “a dark day for democracy” if the Ordinance was introduced in the Assembly, PTI quoted him as saying in the letter.

“This is a black law,” the MLA from Sanganer said. “It is unconstitutional and a reminder of the Emergency days. I will protest against this, both inside and outside the Assembly,”

Rajvi, who represents Vidhyadhar Nagar in the Assembly, was quoted as saying by Eenadu India that he would oppose the Ordinance at the meetings of the BJP legislature party.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Law and Justice PP Chaudhary said the Ordinance was a “perfect and balanced law”. “The rights of the media have been protected and so have the rights of individuals,” he was quoted as saying by ANI. “There is a need for this law at a time like this.”