Centre not averse to joint sitting

By Our Staff Correspondent

BIJAPUR, NOV. 24. The Centre is firm on enacting the Prevention of Terrorist Ordinance (POTO) and the possibility of a joint sitting of Parliament for the purpose cannot be ruled out, the Union Minister of State for Textiles, Mr. Dhananjaya Kumar, said here on Saturday.

At a press conference, he said the POTO was necessary to contain terrorist activities in the changed security scenario. The Government had a majority in the Lok Sabha to pass the Bill, but it needed the cooperation of the Opposition parties, especially the Congress, in the Rajya Sabha. The Government was open to make any reasonable amendment to the POTO and it was ready to address the genuine concerns of the Opposition. But if they continued to be a stumbling block in enacting the Bill, the Government was at liberty to explore all options, including calling for a joint session of Parliament. He criticised the attitude of the Opposition parties, which, he said, were trying to gain political mileage out of the issue. The Congress Government in Karnataka was trying to enact a stringent legislation to prevent disruptive activities.

But the party was opposing a similar Act at the Centre. The CPI(M) Government in West Bengal was all set to bring in such legislation, but opposed the POTO. These parties owed an explanation to the public, he said.

On the outcome of the Doha round of World Trade Organisation conference, the Minister said the concerns of the developing countries, including India, especially on labour-related issues were addressed at the meeting.

The country had a bright future in the textile sector. It had been planned to increase textile exports and this would increase foreign exchange earnings from $13 billion to $50 billion.

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Section  : National
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