[It's an extremely unfortunate development that the Left and quite a few other "secular" parties openly joined hands with the BJP to scuttle the introduction of the Bill. The Bill, in any case, was not expected to be passed by the Parliament in this session. But had it been introduced in the Rajya Sabha it'd have remained alive even when the next Lok Sabha is formed. And its various provisions could have been adequately deliberated thereafter and necessary amendments made. But that was not to be. It exposes these parties to the charge of extremely narrow-minded opportunism which may prove suicidal even in the short run.
In the wake of the Muzaffarnagar riots voices were again raised demanding the early enactment of the Bill. But eventually the BJP which was consistently campaigning against the Bill and spreading canards has succeeded in scuttling even its introduction, let alone enactment, with the active backing of the Left and some "secular" parties. It's a Black Day for secularism in India.] http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/opposition-scuttles-anticommunal-violence-bill-in-rajya-sabha/article5656766.ece Updated: February 6, 2014 01:40 IST Government forced to defer Communal Violence Bill SANDEEP JOSHI GARGI PARSAI The Opposition accused it of going against the spirit of federalism and encroaching upon States' rights The UPA government faced a major embarrassment on the first day of the extended winter session of Parliament on Wednesday as a united Opposition forced the government to defer the Communal Violence Bill in the Rajya Sabha. As the Opposition parties, including the BJP, Samajwadi Party, CPI(M), AIADMK and DMK, stepped up their attack on the government, accusing it of going against the spirit of federalism and encroaching upon States' rights, Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien deferred the Prevention of Communal Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2014, in view of the "mood of the House." The Bill was to replace the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005, withdrawn by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde. Earlier, the House had a brief debate on whether Parliament had the jurisdiction to enact such a Bill that violates the spirit of federalism. Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley and Law Minister Kapil Sibal engaged in heated arguments. *Jurisdiction questioned* Mr. Jaitley said: "The Central government has absolutely no jurisdiction in bringing such a Bill ... This Bill is entirely beyond the legislative competence of Parliament. I am ... convinced that objections raised by Opposition have ... substance." Mr. Sibal said the Bill would not violate the federal structure and that any action by the Union government under the Bill would be with the consent of State governments. He attacked the BJP by referring to the 2002 Gujarat riots, and said the Bill was necessary to tackle "state-sponsored communal activity... like it happened in Gujarat." "If it is state-sponsored communal activity, then it is not a law-and-order issue ... Like what happened in Gujarat is not a law-and-order issue," he said. Sitaram Yechury of the CPI(M) said the Bill could not be introduced as the legislative competence of the Centre was in question. Trinamool Congress' Derek O'Brien said that "the UPA has butchered the concept of federalism" and accused the government of encroaching upon the rights of States. V. Maitreyan of the AIADMK said as law and order was a state subject. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
