Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government is
awaiting approval of the Centre for a stringent bill passed by
the state Assembly for dealing effectively with terrorism and
other nefarious activities.
"I hope the Centre will give its assent to the bill
soon," state`s Home Minister Uma Shankar Gupta said today.
He said the bill, on the lines of Maharashtra Control of
Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), provides for speedy trial of
terror-related cases in special courts.
The step was taken as no charges could be proved in court
against several of the arrested activists of the banned
Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), he said.
Gupta said even judges were of the view that there had
been a delay in giving justice to such people and, "We,
therefore, felt the need to try such cases in special courts".
He alleged that Madhya Pradesh became a safe haven
for terrorists and disruptive forces during the Congress rule
from 1993-2003.
"During 1993-2003 when Congress was in power, Madhya
Pradesh had become a safe haven for the terrorists and
disruptive forces as all the major incidents that took place
within the country that time had direct or indirect links
with the state," Gupta said.
After the BJP came to power in the state, it busted the
Naxal arms manufacturing units and destroyed the SIMI network,
besides keeping an effective check on activities of Maoists
and land mafias, the minister said.
On the 2008 figures of the National Crime Records Bureau
showing Indore on the top of the crime chart, Gupta claimed it
was because in Madhya Pradesh all crimes reports were
registered.
"The situation in the state is not like Bihar or Uttar
Pradesh as alleged by the Opposition," he added.
PTI
