|
Finally, MMS-Sonia trip on human
rights front
WSN Network
NEW DELHI: Faced
with terror attacks, reeling under the inept handling of the Mumbai
tragedy and smarting under criticism from the hardcore Hindu ultra
nationalist BJP, the Indian establishment and the UPA government of
Manmohan Singh-Sonia Gandhi tripped badly on the human rights front.
It has decided
to bring in a law that will have all the demerits of POTA and Armed
Forces Special Powers Act against which the human rights
organisations have been agitating for years.
The same
government which had won some goodwill by scrapping the Prevention
of Terrorism Act, is now doing what Narendra Modi and his ilk wanted
to do: it has gone back to Parliament to ostensibly toughen the
anti-terror legal framework, set up a National Investigation Agency
empowered to take over probes in terror-related offences across the
country but most significantly, the accused will be presumed guilty.
The Congress may
even then not reap the benefits as the saffron RSS-BJP are likely to
remain ahead in shrill levels and provocative stances leading the
urchin crowd of hooligan-as-intellectual variety that is claiming
much of the space in Indian media currently.
The Government
said further provisions are required to be made in the law to cover
various facets of terrorism which are not fully covered in the
present law. The Unlawful Activities Prevention Amendment Bill 2008
was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Home Minister P Chidambaram on
Tuesday.
The BJP got an
opportunity to find POTA even better as Congress lost all credit.
India's much brahamnised Left which talks of patriotism and
territorial integrity to even defend its stance on economic policy
too could back the government.
The new Home
Minister was happy to repiort that the new law is "quite a tough
version”. In order to ensure that the police don’t manipulate this
law, it will be mandatory for the government to make an independent
review of the evidence before sanctioning prosecution of an
accused.
Its definition
of a terrorist act includes disruption of essential supplies to any
community, damage of any property, attempt to overawe people by use
or show of criminal force and attempt to cause death of any public
functionary.
It also
stipulates a 10-year jail term for anyone who threatens a person to
hand over explosives to be used by terrorists, aids in financing to
terrorists, and scales down the level of police officers who can
conduct searches and arrests under the law from a Deputy
Superintendent of Police.
Combined with
the National Investigation Agency, the home ministry official said,
the twin amendments would negate the limitations of resources and
manpower that exists at the state level.
UPA coalition
partners had made repeal of POTA an election issue in 2004. The
Congress-led coalition delivered on this promise but the security
establishment complained it had weakened the anti-terror shield too.
Nearly 6,000
civilian deaths to insurgency, naxalism and terrorism related
violence had forced a review within the government. High-profile
terrorism in urban locations — 70 blasts and attacks this year alone
including the Mumbai attacks, killing 400 — finally forced the
Manmohan Singh government to reverse its position.
17
December
2008
|
Read Also