New Delhi: The Government on Thursday said it
is "determined" to introduce the communal violence bill in
order to bring about a polity in the country which is "fair"
and "just" towards all sections of the society.
"This is a very serious issue. Our Government is
determined to take it (the Bill) forward, because we don`t
want any state government not to be accountable to the kind of
things that have happened in the past, HRD Minister Kapil
Sibal told reporters.
The Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence
(Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, drafted by the
National Advisory Council headed by Sonia Gandhi, was put in
the public domain on May 20 rpt May 20. The NAC has invited
suggestions on the draft bill by June 4.
Sibal said that with the Bill, the Government also
wants to ensure that in "certain situation we can make
Governments and individuals accountable".
Signifying the importance of the Bill, he said there
are instances in the country where certain sections of the
community have been targeted and nine years have lapsed to
decide which court should take up the matter and should be
accused.
"We want to make sure that if we are talking about a
polity which is just and fair, we need to protect all sections
of the society," he said.
When his attention was drawn to BJP leader Arun
Jaitley`s observations about the Bill, Sibal said those issues
could be discussed at the Standing Committee after the Bill is
referred to it for being placed in the House.
In an article put on BJP website, Jaitley has feared
the Bill will intrude into the domain of the state.
Sibal also expressed hope that the Lokpal Bill will be
introduced in the coming Monsoon session of Parliament,
stating that the dialogue process will be completed by June
30.
"The proceedings are going on constructively and I
must say that in an atmosphere..it instills confidence that we
will be able to achieve it," he said.
He said all views including the recommendations of the
NAC and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee`s position
will be taken into account before the Bill is placed in
Parliament.
PTI
