PM convenes all-party meet on Nov 20 to evolve consensus on POTO

NEW DELHI, Nov 18 (NNN) : In a bid to evolve a consensus on the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO), Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has convened a meeting of all political parties on November 20.

The meeting, being held a day after the winter session of Parliament begins on Monday, will seek to allay the fears among the Congress and the Left Parties on the key legislation, which the Centre cannot pass through the Rajya Sabha without the support of the main opposition party, which has expressed apprehensions about the misuse of POTO, saying some of its provisions were "too harsh." The conference of chief ministers on national security held here on Saturday had failed to arrive at a consensus on the ordinance.

Subsequently, the prime minister announced he would hold consultations with the various political parties to thrash out the issue.

Home minister L K Advani had on Saturday said the government was ready to discuss the issue with the Opposition parties and accept any suggestion to improve the legislation against terrorism.

Declaring that the developments in Indias neighbourhood had shaken and undermined the confidence of terrorist groups operating here, Prime Minister Vajpayee had on Saturday sought national consensus on the issue of security and POTO, which has found strong favour with Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh but has been categorically rejected by Bihar and states ruled by the Congress and the Left Parties.

The prime minister sought national consensus on national security policy, calling for a "free and frank" debate on the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO).

Seeking to allay opposition fears on the issue, Vajpayee said the Centre has taken care to remove the shortcomings in TADA that lapsed six years back without a successor law to combat terrorism.

"The circumstances that have compelled us to bring in this legal instrument are well known to you.

We have held consultations with the state governments and the law commission before taking the step," the prime minister said, calling for a central agency to deal with terrorism across the country.

He told the chief ministers that he had the "fullest confidence that you will give your studied views on this ordinance consistent with your own assessment of nations security needs".

In his address, Home Minister L K Advani asserted that POTO was a "comprehensive legislation" against terrorism taking cognizance of terrorist act, terrorist organisations and financing of terrorism.

"Provisions and penalties in a law directed against terrorism are bound to be harsh.

Yet, the ordinance provides suitable safeguards in respect of investigation, arrest, interrogation, trial and other related matters," Advani said.

He expressed the hope that the state governments would take necessary steps to make use of the ordinance to quell terrorism and terrorist activities in their respective jurisdictions.

The conference was attended by almost all chief ministers and Union territory administrators.

Defence minister George Fernandes, law minister Arun Jaitley and Planning Commission deputy chairman K C Pant also addressed the meeting, organised by the home minister.

The meeting saw Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh strongly favouring POTO but Bihar outright rejected the proposed law.

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi told the meeting that attempts for providing necessary legal frameworks for facing deep-rooted terrorist threats should "not be clouded by ill-conceived and misplaced imaginary fears about encroachment of individual liberties".

"The fears about misuse of POTO are misplaced.

Wiser from the experience of TADA, adequate safeguards have been built into the new legislation", he said, adding that the Constitution had provided adequate safeguards for the protection of fundamental rights." "Any weapon can be misused when it falls into bad hands.

If a policeman misuses a weapon, you do not disarm the whole police force.

You hold him accountable and punish him," he said.

In a veiled attack on the Congress, he said "emergency provisions were misused.

But we did not scrap them from the Constitution.

Those who misused them were held accountable by the voters and made to pay the price".

He appealed to other states to show "statesmanship" by supporting the legislation.

Those leading the battle against terrorists from the front needed a psychological reassurance that the entire country was behind them, he said, and added that Gujarat supported the ideal of setting up a federal agency for dealing with crimes against the nation.

Backing POTO, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu declared that "There is no gainsaying the fact that extraordinary situations require extraordinary solutions.

The security of the nation and its people is of paramount importance and brooks no compromise." But, he cautioned, that "adequate safeguards should be taken up to eliminate the scope for abuse of extraordinary powers vested in law enforcement agencies." "A right balance has to be struck in protecting human dignity and other fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India especially the freedom of speech and the needs of national security," Naidu said.

He made special reference to the provision of Section 3 (8) and Section 14 of the ordinance, calling for their suitable modification to "protect the freedom of press which is the hallmark of parliamentary democracy." He also suggested that the validity of the sunset legislation be reduced from five to three years.

Naidu expressed "disappointment" over the non-inclusion of Peoples War Group, indulging in terrorist activity in Andhra Pradesh and other states, in the 23 organisations proscribed by the Centre under the ordinance.

Opposing POTO, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Laloo Prasad Yadav ruled out application of the law in his state.

Opposition will not allow passage of POTO in parliament: Mulayam NEW DELHI, Nov 18 (UNI) The Samajwadi Party (SP) along with other opposition parties would oppose tooth and nail the Prevention Of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) in the winter session of parliament which begins tomorrow.

"The lok morcha has already rejected the POTO, which is mere reincarnation of TADA and is aimed against minorities and is an assault on the civil liberties and media freedom," SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is also convenor of the Morcha said at a news conference here today.

He said the BJP led government should withdraw the POTO without fail and need not bring forward it for discussion in Parliament and asserted that opposition parties would not allow its passage in the Rajya Sabha.

The SP would also raise issues among others such as the governments failure at the doha conference in protecting the national interests and growing unrest among farmers for non-lifting of their products in the markets, he said.

On the governments willingness to be open for suggestions on the issue, Yadav said the BJP at the first place should not have promulgated the anti-terrorism ordinance bypassing parliament and without discussing the issue with political parties.

On media reports that the BJP led government was flexible on reviewing or amending certain clauses of the controversial law, Mr Yadav said there was no question of opposition parties agreeing to the same.

"By now it has become clear that the BJP has promulgated the POTO for seeking political mileage in the coming UP assembly elections," he charged.

SP chief referred to home minister L K Advanis remarks made at the recent BJP national executive meeting in Amritsar and the editors conference on social sector here where the BJP leader had stated that "Those who oppose the poto are appeasing terrorists and we are in a win-win situation.

Either the bill gets passed and if it does not, those who oppose it will be in the dock." At the chief ministers conference on internal security here yesterday, prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee made out a case for the POTO saying "The circumstances that have compelled us to bring in this legal instrument are known to you".

Congress president Sonia Gandhi left no one in doubt about her partys position on the issue when she reportedly conveyed to the PM that it was not proper to have imposed the POTO through an ordinance as it tantamount to confronting parliament with a fait accompli which was unacceptable.

Mr Yadav reminded how the conviction rate in TADA detainees was mere than one per cent and how 66 per cent of them were freed in the first date of hearing of the cases by the courts.

He said the POTO if allowed to become an act by parliament would be misused against "Dissenting voices, be it those of journalists, lawyers and even judges." he cited several instances in support of his claim.

There was no urgency for the new law for combating terrorism Mr Yadav said adding the problem had been existing for the past 21 years in the north east and remained there for 12 years in Punjab while is still continuing in Jammu and Kashmir.

Badal suffers hip fracture in mishap CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 (UNI): Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, who suffered a fracture close to his left hip when he fell during a bath at Guru Nanak Dev Universitys guest house at Amrtisar this morning, has been advised three weeks bed rest, his son and MP Sukhbir Singh Badal said.

The chief minister will not attend the rally being held at Amritsar this afternoon to mark the closing ceremony of the bi-centenary celebrations of crowning of maharaja Ranjeet Singh, junior Badal told mediapersons.

The rally, as of now, is on and prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is expected to address it at 1400 hrs, he added.

UP tops in crime against scheduled castes NEW DELHI, Nov 18 (UNI): As many as 23,742 cases of crime were committed on the members of the scheduled castes and 3,958 against scheduled tribes during the year 2000, with Uttar Pradesh topping the list in such crimes.

National Commission for SC/ST chairman Dileep Singh Bhuria saidthat as per the figures published by the national crime recordsbureau of the 23742 cases involving SCS, 6617 cases involvedatrocities on them and 666 were of denial of civil rights to them.

As many as 1034 cases of rape of SC women were registered while3298 cases of hurt and 486 cases of murder of the members of thecommunity occurred during the period.

260 arson cases, 242 cases ofkidnapping and abduction, 93 of robbery and 37 of dacoity werecommitted against the members of scheduled castes while 11009 otheroffences were registered against them.

Uttar Pradesh with 6599 led the states in having the largestnumber of such cases registered followed by Rajasthan with 5190.

Madhya Pradesh with 4631 registered 4631 such cases while AndhraPradesh had 1582, Tamil Nadu 1296 and Karnataka 1218.

Gujaratregistered 891 such cases while Bihar 741, Maharashtra 489, Kerala467, Orissa 375 and Haryana 109.

Among Union Territories, Pondicherry led the list with 21 casesbeing registered during the year followed by Delhi where 13 cases ofcrimes against scheduled castes were registered.

In cases of atrocity registered under the protection of civilrights act, the highest number of 284 cases of denial of civilrights occurred in Andhra Pradesh followed by Tamil Nadu (103),Maharashtra (98) and Karnataka (95).

Of the total 3958 cases registered about crime committed on themembers of scheduled castes during the period, the maximum 1845 wereregistered in Madhya Pradesh followed by Rajasthan 1130, Gujarat 221and Andhra Pradesh 202.

Maharashtra reported 142 such cases while Orissa 97 and Uttar Pradesh 78 such cases.

among these cases, maximum 432 cases were registered under theprevention of atrocities against scheduled tribes act, 391 cases ofrape of tribal women, 412 hurt cases, 53 murder cases, 45 kidnappingcases and 2561 other offences.

Moreover, the commission since its inception, has dealt with morethan ten thousand complaints from members of SC/ST working invarious ministries, departments, central PSUs, financialinstitutions/banks/autonomous bodies/ Universities etc regardingdenial of rights and previleges provided to them either under theconstitution or by the order of the government, Mr Bhuria said.

Thecomplaints which mainly concerned harassment, victimisation, denialof appointments or proper posting.

The commission has so far issued 622 summons utilising its civilcourts power to enforce the attendance of heads of the organisationswho have not furnished information either at time or belated stage.In addition to issuance of findings, the commission has alsocommunicated its recommendations after investigations in more than500 cases through letters and in majority of cases therecommendations have been accepted by the organisation and reliefprovided to the petitioners.

Besides, it has also pursued the recommendations contained in thespecial report submitted by the earlier commission regardingwithdrawal of five Office Memorandums (OMS) issued by the governmentduring 1997 out of which the government has already withdrawn tworegarding relaxation in standards and treatment of backlog vacanciesand earlier position has been restored.

Om relating to downgradeseniority of SC/ST officers who were promoted in furtherance ofreservation in promotion is likely to be withdrawn after suitableamendment in the constitution, he said.

Parliaments winter session commences today NEW DELHI, Nov 18 (UNI): The Congress, the left, the Samajwadi andother opposition parties have decided to grill the government in theWinter session of Parliament commencing tomorrow for its Abjectfailure to protect the countrys interest, particularly thefarming community, in the Doha conference of the WTO.

In the session scheduled to continue till December 23, theopposition, despite differences among themselves on many issues,will make a common cause to launch a scathing attack on thegovernment.

They are concerned over what they call the negativerole played by the NDA government and its inabiity to safeguard theinterests of the developing nations, including India, at the Dohaconference.

It succumbed to the pressures mounted by the UnitedStates and its allies, they said.

Besides, the opposition, particulalry the left parties, have takenexception to what they alleged a tilt in Indias foreign policy towards the united states and say the NDA government is toeing itsline in international affairs.

They will demand a debate on thecountrys foreign policy with particular reference to thedeveloments in Afghanistan.

They will seek to ascertain the exactrole being played by India in the war on terrorism.

The other issues to be taken up by the opposition include thegovernments disinvenstment policy, "Rehabilitation of defenceminister George Fernandes and Bangaru Laxman before theinvestigation into the Tehelka tapes was concluded.

Prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will apprise the Rajya Sabhaand the Lok Sabha through statements of the outcome of his recenttalks with the leaders of the US, the United Kingdom, Russia andother countries on fight against terrorism While 21 bills are pending in the Lok Sabha, the governmentintends to introduce 20 new bills.

These include the controversialPrevention Of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) which is being opposed bythe Congress and other opposition Parties.

The government also proposes to seek approval of Parliament forfurther extension of presidents rule in Manipur, suplementary demads for grants relating to the union budget and the Railways for2001-02 and also excess demands for 1998-99.

Parliament is expected to witness a lively debate on the ninthfive year plan which will come to an end in March next.

Theachievements and failures on various sectors and national economyduring the period will be highlighted by the participants in thedebate, sources said.

EU leaders to highlight Indias role in Afghan crisis NEW DELHI, Nov 18 (UNI) Leaders of the European Union (EU) will highlight at the second EU-India summit, beginning here on November 23, the key role India has to play in the Afghan crisis.

Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt, representing the presidency of the European Union (EU), and European Commission president Romanao Prodi will visit India with a high-powered delegation of ministers, comissioners and officials at the New Delhi summit.

The Indian delegation will be led by prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

EU commissioner for trade pascal lamy, who will also be a part of the delegation, will interact with Indian leaders to promote trade, investment and economic cooperation.

The EU leaders will also stress cooperation in critical and future-oriented areas, including consultations between experts on terrorism.

They will suggest ways to strengthen civil society contacts, particularly the think-tank network.

They will outline cooperation in developing partnerships in the information technology-orietented societies of the EU and India.

There will also be efforts to develop a common vision on science and technology cooperation.

The event, following the success of the first-ever summit held in Lisbon, Portugal, on June 28 last year, is an important step forward in the bilateral relations of the 15-member eu with India and is being seen as a signal of the growing importance the EU attaches to its relations with India.

The EU has regular summits with all important partners, inclduing the United States, Japan, Canada, China, Russia and now India.

Reflecting a strong commercial underpinning of the relationship, the political summit of the EU leaders with the Indian leadership will be preceded by a two-day EU-India business summit, commencing from November 22.

To be attended by Indian and European businessmen, it will focus on discussions in certain select areas such as information technology, manufacturing and engineering, pharma, bio=technology and food processing and finance and banking.

The business summit is a joint effort of FICCI, CII and council of EU chambers.

The business summit will make a series of recommendations which will be presented at the concluding session to Indian and EU leaders attending the meeting.

Mr Vajpayee, Mr Prody and Mr Verhofstadt will attend the session.

New areas will be identified for cooperation by the businesss leaders.

Earlier, a joint study by the CII and European commission had identified Telecom, IT, engineering and food processing as areas of intensifed cooperation.

Focussed attention has been given to developing cooperation in these fields.

Mr Lamy will meet finance minister Yashwant Sinha, minister for Information Technology Pramod Mahajan, disinvestment minister Arun Shourie and commerce minister Murasoli Maran.

EU sources say the summits serve the useful purpose of binding both sides towards an agenda of action which helps to consolidate bilateral relations.

The summit will take stock of the progress made in the agenda of action adopted at the first summit and make recommendations for the next summit.

Significant progress has already been made towards implementing the agenda of action including the launch of the EU-India round table and the think tank network, the joint initiative on enhancement of trade and investment, the setting up of the working group on environment and the discussions on agreement on science and technology.

Progress has also been achieved on co-ordinating efforts to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms referred to in the joint declaration.

After substantial work, an agreement on co-operation in science and technology will be signed on November 23.

The Sarva Siksha Abhayan, a programme in elementary education, has been launched with EUs contribution of 200 million euro.

An EU-India working group on terrorism has also been set up.

There has been co-operation in identifying and furthering common interests in international organisations.

Good amount of groundwork has been done on the economic front since the lisbon summit, including EU-India initiative on enhancement of trade and services.

There have been enhanced industry and business links, removal of obstacles with a view to stimulating eu investment in India and promotion of joint initiatives in the field of environment.

Modi backs POTO NEW DELHI, Nov 17 (UNI) Lending full support to the centre on controversial POTO, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi today sought to allay the fears about its misuse and said adequate safeguards have been built into the new legislation.

"The fears about the misuse of POTO are misplaced," he said speaking at the conference of chief ministers on internal-security.

He said any weapon can be misused when it falls into bad hands.

"I can say with authority that my government will not allow any misuse of the law," Mr Modi asserted.

He was of the view that it was not mandatory for any state to use the provsions of POTO.

If they feel that they can handle terrorists with bare hands, they are free to do so.

"Let us all remmember that those leading the battle from the front need a psychological reassurance that the entire country is right behind them both in word and deed," he said and appealed to all other states to support the legislation.

Fully supporting POTO, he said Gujarat share the centres view and many other states that the current internal security scene warrants such a legislation.

There has been a spurt in terrorist activities since tada has lapsed.

Now terrorists have no fear of the law.

It is now a battle between unequals, with the criminal having the upper hand, he said.

Mr Modi said"The present situation casts upon us a responsibility to rise to the occasion, above any narrow political and other affiliations and act in a statesman-like fashion," he said.

Mild eartquake in Bhuj PUNE, Nov 18 (UNI) An earthquake of slight intensity shook Bhuj in Gujarat early this morning.

The quake, measuring four on the richter scale, occured around 0203 hours, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD) here today.

The earthquake had its epicentre at latitude 23.8 degrees north and longitude 69.3 degrees east at Bhuj in Gujarat, the report said.

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