Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil said sometime back that the government would soon bring in a model comprehensive law to tackle communal violence in the country. For reasons best known to it, the Samajwadi Party decided to oppose this Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005.
The state’s opposition to the proposed legislation stemmed from the fact that under the Constitution, law and order is a state subject, and any Central law on the subject should be operative only in Union territories. Any law that does otherwise negates the spirit of the Constitution. And if the Centre is given the power to interfere in one subject on the state list, the intrusion may soon spread to other subjects as well. Legal opinion provided to the state cautioned that through the bill, the Centre will have sweeping powers as in an Emergency.
The UPA’s Common Minimum Programme had promised a separate comprehensive law on communal violence under which investigations would be carried out only by Central agencies and prosecution by special courts. Mr Patil’s statement indicates that the government intends bringing in legislation to contain communal violence.Some have questioned the need for new legislation on the matter. After all, there are several laws to take care of such situations. For instance, Section 153-A of the Indian Penal Code provides for punishment for any act, which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious, linguistic, or regional groups or castes or communities and which disturbs or is likely to disturb the public tranquillity. There is legislation to tackle the inciting of violence and so on. Existing legislation to tackle communal violence has failed in the past because of poor implementation and a lack of political will. As evident in Gujarat in 2002, the attack on minorities assumed the immense proportions it did because the BJP government in the state along with the police force was complicit in the violence and refused to take steps to arrest its spread. There is no guarantee that the Central government would necessarily act to check communal violence if the state government is reluctant to do so. The BJP-led government in the centre simply looked the other way in the case of Gujarat. The Congress was in power at the Centre and in Maharashtra in 1992, when communal violence broke out after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. The Centre took no action when the Maharashtra government did not act effectively to halt the violence.No communal riot can occur if the government and its law and order machinery are determined to prevent or arrest the spread of such violence and virus. The need for keeping the intelligence apparatus in a fine fettle and making effective use of the input for nipping the trouble in the bud is also equally crucial. What is needed is political will to prevent the spread of the communal virus. The proposed new law could end up as just another piece of legislation if the government does not back it with effective implementation.
The raging violence in UP at present is an indicator how small incidents can turn barbarous, if the political will is only to seek benefits in elections, no matter at what costs. And if Congress has opened up a front against SP at the moment, it is merely because it is in opposition at the moment. Otherwise, Congress too can be blamed for many a riots in the past. Even the Srikrishna Commission that was attempting to unearth the names of those who were responsible for Mumbai riots that led to more than 1000 people killed and looting, arson and rape continuing for days, was terminated without a whimper, thus protecting the identities of those involved in the riots, including some policemen, perhaps forever.
The state’s opposition to the proposed legislation stemmed from the fact that under the Constitution, law and order is a state subject, and any Central law on the subject should be operative only in Union territories. Any law that does otherwise negates the spirit of the Constitution. And if the Centre is given the power to interfere in one subject on the state list, the intrusion may soon spread to other subjects as well. Legal opinion provided to the state cautioned that through the bill, the Centre will have sweeping powers as in an Emergency.
The UPA’s Common Minimum Programme had promised a separate comprehensive law on communal violence under which investigations would be carried out only by Central agencies and prosecution by special courts. Mr Patil’s statement indicates that the government intends bringing in legislation to contain communal violence.Some have questioned the need for new legislation on the matter. After all, there are several laws to take care of such situations. For instance, Section 153-A of the Indian Penal Code provides for punishment for any act, which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious, linguistic, or regional groups or castes or communities and which disturbs or is likely to disturb the public tranquillity. There is legislation to tackle the inciting of violence and so on. Existing legislation to tackle communal violence has failed in the past because of poor implementation and a lack of political will. As evident in Gujarat in 2002, the attack on minorities assumed the immense proportions it did because the BJP government in the state along with the police force was complicit in the violence and refused to take steps to arrest its spread. There is no guarantee that the Central government would necessarily act to check communal violence if the state government is reluctant to do so. The BJP-led government in the centre simply looked the other way in the case of Gujarat. The Congress was in power at the Centre and in Maharashtra in 1992, when communal violence broke out after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. The Centre took no action when the Maharashtra government did not act effectively to halt the violence.No communal riot can occur if the government and its law and order machinery are determined to prevent or arrest the spread of such violence and virus. The need for keeping the intelligence apparatus in a fine fettle and making effective use of the input for nipping the trouble in the bud is also equally crucial. What is needed is political will to prevent the spread of the communal virus. The proposed new law could end up as just another piece of legislation if the government does not back it with effective implementation.
The raging violence in UP at present is an indicator how small incidents can turn barbarous, if the political will is only to seek benefits in elections, no matter at what costs. And if Congress has opened up a front against SP at the moment, it is merely because it is in opposition at the moment. Otherwise, Congress too can be blamed for many a riots in the past. Even the Srikrishna Commission that was attempting to unearth the names of those who were responsible for Mumbai riots that led to more than 1000 people killed and looting, arson and rape continuing for days, was terminated without a whimper, thus protecting the identities of those involved in the riots, including some policemen, perhaps forever.
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