The Hindu : Will amendment set free Vaiko?

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Friday, Oct 24, 2003

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Will amendment set free Vaiko?

By V.Jayanth

CHENNAI Oct. 23. The Union Cabinet's decision to amend the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act has brought some cheer to the Tamil Nadu allies of the National Democratic Alliance — the PMK and the MDMK in particular.

The NDA's leader in the State — DMK — has however stuck to its stand, calling for the repeal of Act. The State Government, however, is not in any hurry to react to the development and would prefer to wait for the ordinance to see what is in it, which can take away the powers vested with the State.

At the bottom of the current debate rests the basic question: Will this amendment enable the MDMK leader, Vaiko, and his friends, now being tried under POTA in a special court, to walk out of jail and out of the charges framed under this draconian Act? That seems to be the political expectation right now, though legally, lawyers see a lot of complications in the whole exercise.

The MDMK leaders, who have been fighting for the repeal of POTA or at least some Central intervention to put an end to its misuse, have lost no time in welcoming the announcement. They have met the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and thanked him for the move. A senior party functionary says the ordinance, which may be promulgated within a week, will make things clear and pave the way for their leader's release. They are not too clear how this will happen, but argue that the amendment to the POTA itself is coming about because of the campaign from Tamil Nadu. They are profusely grateful to their ally, DMK and its leader, M. Karunanidhi, for sustaining the campaign and even announcing a mass protest to be held on December 1.

Mr. Karunanidhi himself has dismissed the amendment as a "gimmick" and insists that the DMK would not rest until the POTA was repealed. But party seniors say that when the ordinance is out and its effect on the Vaiko-Nedumaran-Nakheeran Gopal cases become clear, the party will formulate its strategy on the future of the agitation.

'Law will take its course'

The AIADMK Government has not reacted to the Centre's decision. A senior official, when contacted, would only say: "We would like to look at the ordinance and the fine print before either reacting or proceeding further. As far as we are concerned, the POTA-related cases are already before the special court. Charge sheets have been framed and the legal process is on. A Supreme Court verdict on Section 21 of the Act is also awaited. In these circumstances, there is very little for us to say or do. The law will take its course."

Legal circles here say it is premature to react because it is not clear what issues the proposed ordinance will address. It is not known if it can be retroactive or retrospective in nature. Whether it will merely empower the Central Review panel or go beyond this remains to be seen. Some lawyers say that since a trial has commenced in most cases, it is not clear if the proceedings can be dropped at this stage. They too would like to wait for the ordinance to see what the Centre has in mind.

MDMK sources are confident that there is "light at the end of the tunnel" and the purpose of the amendment is not only to put an end to the "misuse of POTA by some State Governments," but also to release those who have been "wrongly charged under its provisions". Mr. Vaiko himself, while welcoming the Centre's move, has called for the repeal of POTA, although his party knows that the BJP will not yield on that.

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