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Govt, Modi spar on GUJCOC
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
PC: Bill a closed chapter; Need tough laws against terror: Gujarat CM
Rejecting Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s passionate plea for enactment of tougher terror law to deal with internal security challenges, the Centre on Sunday asserted that Gujarat Control of Organised Crime (GUJCOC) Bill was a closed chapter and UPA Government will never approve of it.
Claiming that the GUJCOC was against the sentiments of Parliament which repealed Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), Home Minister P Chidambaram asserted that the Centre will never give its assent to the Bill in the present form.
“This Bill is against the expression of the mind of Parliament which repealed POTA. Parliament no longer approves the idea of accepting the police versions or public prosecutors versions, which can’t be challenged in the court of law,” Chidambaram said, briefing the media on the outcome of the Chief Ministers’ conference on internal security.
Justifying the existence of same kind of Act (MCOCA) in Maharashtra, Chidambaram said this Act was passed during the old days, when Parliament had favoured POTA. “It was the then expression of Parliament.”
Incidentally, in a recent move, the Home Ministry recommended to President Pratibha Patil not to sign the GUJCOC Bill which was passed by the Gujarat Assembly for the fourth time on July 28 last year after some changes.
Earlier, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi strongly pitched for sanctioning the GUJCOC Bill, saying lack of adequate legal provisions was the “biggest” issue concerning internal security.
“Internal security threatened by organised crime and terrorism etc is required to be confronted with strong resolve which should not be limited to physically strengthening the law enforcement mechanism alone. Our policy decisions and laws to deal with such issues should have enough teeth. The biggest issue concerning internal security, to my mind, is lack of adequate legal provisions to support our efforts,” the Gujarat Chief Minister said at the conference.
The Home Ministry’s objections to GUJCOC Bill are primarily related to two provisions in GUJCOC — admission of confession made before a police officer in a court and a clause that bars grant of bail to a person if the public prosecutor opposes it.
Later, talking to the media, Modi said there are only two ways to deal with security related issues. “Firstly, we need modern weapons and an increased strength of forces. We believe in democracy. We believe in human rights. So, it is also necessary to strengthen the laws.” He said better laws will strengthen the democracy and will also protect human rights.
Taking on the Centre on the issue of National Investigation Agency, Modi said founding fathers of the Constitution had a long-term vision when they had kept law and order as a State subject and that “tinkering” with it would not be allowed.
Modi said if the Centre thought that present scheme of distribution of powers between the Centre and the States needs revisiting, “then the issue may be looked into totality beginning with the present structure of the Constitution and we will participate in those discussions”.
On the issue of dossiers being supplied to Pakistan and on the involvement of people and State agencies of that country in the Mumbai terror attacks, he said the time was ripe to built inherent strength and institutional mechanisms so as not to be dependent on external forces for bringing perpetrators of crime within Indian territory to book.
Modi said to be successful in this objective, it is important that not only the country is strong but also “perceived to be strong” by subversive elements within and outside India.
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