The Hindu : POTA: Govt. assurance on review panel

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 05, 2003

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POTA: Govt. assurance on review panel

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MARCH 4. The Government today assured the Rajya Sabha that it was considering setting up a review committee as provided in the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

The assurance came after the Opposition virtually forced the Government to respond to its concern over "misuse" of POTA and reminding it of the "solemn assurance" that the law would not be misused.

The Opposition intervention came when the Congress leaders, Pranab Mukherjee and Kapil Sibal, preferred to withdraw their amendment on it to the President's address before the House passed a motion of thanks through a voice vote.

The Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, who is the Leader of the House said the Government would take all steps in line with Constitutional and legal rights and provisions of POTA.

Mr. Mukherjee said that while enacting the law, the Government had promised that POTA would not be misused but recently a 12-year-old was arrested. The Congress leader disagreed with the Home Minister's recent statement that the Centre could not do much in the matter, since it was applied by a State Government.

Mr. Sibal sought to know why review committees as envisaged under POTA were not set up since arrests and release in Jharkhand sent a message that the Act was being misused by political parties. The Congress MPs found support from the DMK leader, S. Viduthalai Virumbi, who referred to the arrest of Vaiko (MDMK).

This evoked protests from the AIADMK members.

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