POTO needed to counter terrorism: Venkaiah Naidu

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, NOV. 25. The Union Minister for Rural Development, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, has said the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance(POTO) was necessary as the existing laws are inadequate to counter and crush the terrorism that is assuming new forms and dimensions in the country.

Speaking at the `Unity Day against Terror' organised by the city unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP), here this evening, Mr. Naidu said laws such as the IPC, the CRPC or the PD Act are for common criminals who commit ordinary crimes. On the other hand, terrorists, by no stretch of imagination, can be considered ordinary criminals. In fact, they cannot even be considered human beings and as such cannot be given the benefit of such things as civil liberties and human rights. Those who oppose POTO should also consider the fact that terrorists are today using the instruments of democracy to destroy democratic States such as India.

On May 13, 1985, the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, had stated on the floor of the Lok Sabha that the Government would bring a new law to counter terrorism. Today, however, the Congress was opposing the POTO. This in spite of the fact that it was that party which had brought into effect some of the most draconian laws the country has ever seen since independence. It is also noteworthy that those who say they oppose the POTO are not offering any alternative suggestions.

POTO was not thought of by the Centre on the spur of the moment. All those concerned were taken into confidence and their opinions and recommendations sought before the formulation of the Ordinance. Seventeen State Governments, many of them Congress- ruled, had written to the Centre that stringent laws were needed to fight terrorism when their views were sought on POTO. The Law Commission of India has even sent a model law to counter and crush terrorism, to the Union Government. Moreover, the Congress cannot complain about not being consulted as that party and its leaders never consulted anyone on such laws as MISA, TADA or on the issue of imposing Emergency.

It is also not true that POTO is more draconian than TADA. There are many provisions in POTO that were not part of TADA. A person arrested under POTO must be produced before the magistrate within 48 hours. The person's advocate can be present during the entire length of the police interrogation. The term of police custody under POTO is 30 days, while it was 60 under TADA. The period of judicial custody is three months under POTO, while it was one year under TADA. Moreover, under POTO, a police officer who makes a mala fide arrest can be proceeded against. This was not possible under TADA and is not possible under the many similar laws in force in many States, he said.

The Ordinance makes no mention of the media. If at all there are concerns about POTO vis-a-vis the media and their rights, the same can be discussed at length when the Ordinance reaches the Parliament. The organisations and political parties who oppose POTO should make clear what they oppose in the Ordinance. They should also make it clear why POTO is wrong if POTO-like laws in such States as Karnataka, Maharashtra or West Bengal are not being opposed by anyone.

Then, there are those who propagate that POTO will be used against the minorities. POTO is designed to be used against terrorists, who by the very definition have no religion, region, caste, race or creed. Though certain political parties and organisations are opposing POTO, the people of the country are behind the Centre. In fact, if an opinion poll is held across the country on POTO, 99.99 per cent of the people will support the Ordinance, Mr. Naidu said.

The BJP State general secretary, Mr. P.P. Mukundan, and the State secretary, Mr. M.S. Kumar, were among those who were present.

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