All-party meet on POTO next week?

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI, NOV. 26. A political confrontation on the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) is now almost inevitable, unless the Union Government decides to allow it to lapse or takes recourse to convening a joint session to get its way. One more chance for a consensus will be available when an all-party meeting is called to discuss the issue, but a breakthrough seems highly unlikely given the mood on the two sides.

This became clear this morning at the meeting of the Consultative Committee attached to the Home Ministry where political parties stuck to their stand. The Opposition parties - Congress, Left, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and others - let it be known clearly that POTO was simply not acceptable to them. And for its part, the Government refused to discuss what changes, if any, it was willing to concede in the proposed bill to replace the ordinance. Today's was the third and last consultative committee meeting on POTO.

While the total opposition to POTO by the non-Congress opposition was expected, the Congress leader, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad, today reportedly lashed out at the Government and stated that his party was opposed to it. He also made it clear that no one should presume to teach his party how to fight terrorists: it had lost three major leaders, Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, to terrorists. The active cooperation seen between these major opposition parties in this session is another reason which will prevent a break in ranks.

The Union Home Minister, Mr. L.K.Advani, who was in the chair, took note of the views of members and stated that the Prime Minister had agreed to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the issue. However, he gave no date but indications are that it would take place next week, or in any case before the Prime Minister leaves for Japan on December 7.

It seems that the Government want the Opposition to come up with specific suggestions for any changes they may want to see in the proposed legislation, but the Opposition view is that it is for the Government to first put its cards on the table. After all, informally the Government has let it be known that it is willing to make some amendments. In fact, this has become a necessity after it became clear at the National Democratic Alliance meeting a week ago that many of the key allies had serious reservations about certain clauses, especially the one which could be used against mediamen.

The Congress spokesperson, Mr. Anand Sharma, later said: ``there is no dilution on our stand against POTO. We have strong reservations on procedural and substantive grounds. On the procedural matter, the Government showed its ill intent by bringing an ordinance just before a Parliamentary session and without consultation, while the substantive issue was that this Government could not be trusted with a law like POTO.'' At the same time he asserted that his party was ``second to none in confronting terrorism. Any law to deal with terrorism can be considered only after wide-ranging consultations.''

The Government has now begun conceding that there is no chance of getting POTO through in the Rajya Sabha. But at the start of this session Government sources had talked of passing the legislation at a joint session of the two Houses to get over the problem of lack of majority in the Rajya Sabha.

But more likely, the Government simply wants to use the political confrontation on the bill as a poll plank in the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, an issue which the Opposition has said is bound to flop.

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