Mumbai: Members of the National Advisory
Council (NAC) on Friday demanded tabling of the Prevention of
Communal and Targeted Violence bill in the winter session of
Parliament.
NAC members Farah Naqvi and Harsh Mander told a meeting
today that "if the UPA is sincere, they should do it now.
Today, the ball is firmly in their (government) court.".
The Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence(Access
to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2001, has been submitted by
NAC to the government which has not yet acted on it in the
wake of opposition to the draft provisions by political
parties like BJP.
The draft law intends to prevent and control targeted
violence against the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes
and religious and linguistic minorities.
Harsh Mander said that not only the leadership but the
executive too has "failed" to give equal justice under the
existing law to minorities and it is necessary to pass the new
law.
He said "as long as the accused are Muslims, flimsy
allegations are enough to keep them in jail but when the
accused is a Hindu, then you need the highest standard of
investigation and proof".
Former High Court judge Hospet Suresh, questioning the
delay over tabling of the bill asked "should we go on fast
like Anna Hazare and demand that the government should table
the bill in Parliament"?
"We are still debating this when it should have been
passed (in the Parliament) by now", he said.
PTI
