New Delhi, December 10: An important law that aims to check sectarian violence in India has been approved by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and will be introduced in the parliament this session amid a growing political debate that this legislation may interfere with the federal character of the constitution.
Though the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill was drafted in 2005, it has got a fresh lease of life after Dr Singh’s cabinet approved the bill for introduction in parliament. Significantly, the move has come soon after the government tabled the Liberhan Commission report on the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
The bill is a modified version of the 2005 draft, and assumes significance against the backdrop of a series of attacks against Muslims and other religious minorities like Christians in India. Among other critical measures, the legislation enables federal authorities to declare an area in a state as ‘communally disturbed’ on its own.
Besides, it can send federal security and para-military forces without the state government’s request.
While the federal government has defended the bill saying it cannot be a silent spectator to incidents of communal violence, the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has objected that the law undermines the authority of provincial governments.
As per Indian statutes, law and order is a subject that falls under the jurisdiction of the state government, and the responsibility to prevent and deal with communal violence lies with the state government, unless the federal government imposes President’s Rule, as it did after the destruction of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992.
The bill provides for tougher punishment against the perpetrators of sectarian violence and has guidelines for rehabilitation of the victims, said a senior home ministry official. The new version of the bill gives even more powers to the federal government than in comparison to the 2005 draft. The vital feature of the bill is that the federal government gets absolute right to respond to communal violence, said officials.
“The federal government can declare a particular area in a state as ‘communally disturbed’, without the consent of the state government, and even if there is no loss of life. The unified command created under the legislation will be controlled directly by the federal government. There would be no need for any support mechanism from states’ law and order machinery,” officials say quoting the bill.
The legislation would enable the federal government to respond with greater haste to incidents of communal violence, unlike in the case of Gujarat riots, where the federal government could not take over the BJP-run state administration of chief minister Narendra Modi.
However, legal experts suggest that the bill does not have enough checks and balances to prevent or deter its misuse. Constitutional expert Fali Nariman says that the bill is a serious encroachment on the federal structure. But law minister Veerappa Moily retorts that the bill will help the federal government act at a micro level.
It will give an alternative other than merely sending advisories to the state governments. He adds that the nation can not be a mute spectator to communal disturbances. “The party in power often becomes party to what is happening (like during Gujarat riots),” he said.
But experts have criticised the bill. “Rather than first enact the law and then wait for judicial checks to evolve, it is hoped that enough safeguards will be incorporated into the bill to ensure that it does not become a tool to needle unfriendly state governments,”says a newspaper editorial commenting on the legislation.
–Agencies