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Prevention of Terrorism bill defeated in Rajya Sabha
A determined opposition on Thursday night defeated the Prevention of Terrorism bill in Rajya Sabha by a massive margin, forcing the government to convene a joint session of parliament on March 26 to get the controversial legislation approved.
A determined opposition on Thursday night defeated the Prevention of Terrorism bill in Rajya Sabha by a massive margin, forcing the government to convene a joint session of parliament on March 26 to get the controversial legislation approved.
The house adopted a statutory resolution moved by Kapil Sibal (Cong) and others by 113 to 98 votes, disapproving the Prevention of Terrorism (second) ordinance, promulgated by the President on December 30 last year. One member abstained from voting.
The huge margin of victory for the opposition was due to abstentions of the National Conference (three), Bahujan Samaj Party (four) and rebel Akali Dal member G S Tohra. The bill had been passed on Tuesday by the Lok Sabha, where the ruling NDA has a majority. However, knowing that it was in a minority in the upper house, the government had already announced that a joint session of Parliament would be convened on March 26 to get the bill approved in the event of its being defeated in the Rajya Sabha. Both the treasury benches and the opposition had marshalled all their resources to bring in their members to the capital to take part in the crucial voting. The day saw several ailing and indisposed members, including leader of the opposition Manmohan Singh, coming to the House.
Before the bill was put to vote after a marathon eight-hour debate, home minister L K Advani made an impassioned appeal to all sections of the house to give up their opposition to the legislation and approve it to strengthen the government`s hands to fight terrorism.
He sought to allay the opposition`s apprehension that certain provisions of the bill would be misused against innocents and minorities. In this connection, he also stated that there could be no difference between the perpetrators of violence at Godhra or in other parts of Gujarat.
The two sides fielded almost all their stalwarts during the debate, including some prominent jurists, to drive home their respective points of view.
Bureau Report
The huge margin of victory for the opposition was due to abstentions of the National Conference (three), Bahujan Samaj Party (four) and rebel Akali Dal member G S Tohra. The bill had been passed on Tuesday by the Lok Sabha, where the ruling NDA has a majority. However, knowing that it was in a minority in the upper house, the government had already announced that a joint session of Parliament would be convened on March 26 to get the bill approved in the event of its being defeated in the Rajya Sabha. Both the treasury benches and the opposition had marshalled all their resources to bring in their members to the capital to take part in the crucial voting. The day saw several ailing and indisposed members, including leader of the opposition Manmohan Singh, coming to the House.
Before the bill was put to vote after a marathon eight-hour debate, home minister L K Advani made an impassioned appeal to all sections of the house to give up their opposition to the legislation and approve it to strengthen the government`s hands to fight terrorism.
He sought to allay the opposition`s apprehension that certain provisions of the bill would be misused against innocents and minorities. In this connection, he also stated that there could be no difference between the perpetrators of violence at Godhra or in other parts of Gujarat.
The two sides fielded almost all their stalwarts during the debate, including some prominent jurists, to drive home their respective points of view.
Bureau Report