MOHAMMAD NAUSHAD KHAN comments on the Government’s plan to dump the Prevention of Communal & Targeted Violence (Access to Justice & Reparations) Bill.
The NDA government at the Centre has made up its mind to dump the much talked about and awaited Communal Violence Bill and a fresh attempt is likely to be made to take on board all states to draft a national action plan to tackle communal violence. The nature of national action plan and how effective it would be is to be looked upon by civil society when the drafts get ready for consultation.
It is yet to be ascertained as to what would be the approach of the new government while formulating the guidelines and measures to combat communal violence and whether attempts would be made only to come out with a consensus draft rather than emphasis on making it effective in order to serve the purpose.
To many, it could be surprising that if the government agreed to take along MNREGA with some additional measures then why not push for diluted version of the Communal Violence Bill which was made less effective only to take opposition and all those who had some reservation against the original draft on the same page. Ravi Nair, Director, South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, while talking to Radiance, said that the Bill prepared by the UPA government was itself weak and any further dilution will be a mockery of the purpose of the Bill.
As per reports available, Home Ministry has said that at no level neither talks were held on the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill after NDA formed the government nor did the matter come up with either Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Earlier, when the UPA government had pushed forward to get the bill passed with strong punitive measures, it was strongly opposed by the BJP and several chief ministers, including Mamata Banerjee and Jayalalithaa. The earlier draft of the bill empowered the Centre to declare an area communally disturbed where security forces can be deployed even without the approval of the state. It was then opposed on the ground that it could go against the federal structure.
Even after diluting several provisions like making it neutral to all communities and downsizing the role of the Central government in case of communal violence, the UPA government failed to enact the bill in its last attempt just before the Lok Sabha polls. In the earlier draft, the Centre was provided with unilateral powers to intervene and sent paramilitary forces in case riot takes place at any place.
Mujtaba Farooque, president, Welfare Party of India, told Radiance that it was the BJP that opposed the Communal Violence Bill the most, so how can we expect the same party that is in power to carry forward the same draft. Now, it is a fact that the BJP-led NDA is in power and communal violence is not only a concern for Muslims but for all other minorities like Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains are also very much worried and want laws that could prevent communal violence. It is not only the question of Muslims but of all minorities. He asked the government to formulate preventive measures by any name that could serve the purpose and if it does not take place then the very purpose of democracy would be jeopardised because the Constitution of India has provided safeguards and security of the minorities and the new government by all means should ensure those safeguards and security for minorities. He urged the people that instead of confrontation, a middle path has to be chosen to get things done. The civil society should put pressure on the government to come out with such a legislation that could serve the purpose, be it by any name.
Narendra Modi, who as the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, in a letter to the earlier government, termed the bill as a recipe of disaster. Now Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of India during the joint sitting of Parliament has promised zero tolerance towards communal violence and said that a national policy will be framed in consultation with the states to curb it. In that meet, President Pranab Mukherjee also said, “A policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism, extremism, riots and crimes will be pursued…. A national plan will be chalked out in consultation with the state governments to effectively curb incidents of communal violence and the challenges posed by left wing extremism.”
On 14 June, The Central Working Committee of the All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, the umbrella body of Indian Muslim organisations, under the chairmanship of the national President, Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan, demanded enactment of the Prevention of Communal & Targeted Violence (Access to Justice & Reparations) Bill because without such a law the government’s declared determination of checking communal riots will not become a reality.
On many occasions, the BJP opposed the Bill saying that it is an extension of minority appeasement policy of the UPA government which was rejected by Harsh Mander when he said, “If there had been minority appeasement, Muslims would’ve been better than other communities. Of the 50,000 displaced, between 600 and 700 were dalits living in Muslim majority neighbourhoods. Around five lakh were displaced in Assam. Such riots push out Muslims where they are a minority in villages. Many of them don’t return and their properties are taken away or destroyed.” (The Times of India, 2 October 2013)
Nusrat Ali, secretary general, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind told Radiance that the draft of Communal Violence Bill was first prepared in 2005 and from then onwards the issue was persistently raised by various human rights groups, Muslim organisations and some political parties too. But the present party in power has continuously opposed it; some other parties also opposed it on the ground that it was anti-majority bill and against the country’s federal system. The issue is not about the majority or minority or interference in the federal structure.
“There are many issues which need to be tackled and that those who provoke such violence and create violent atmosphere must be contained. So where the question of majority or minority is; anyone irrespective of community or religion must be controlled. If the state fails to play its part during such violence like Gujarat riots then the Centre must intervene and the district administrations that failed to control riots should also be made held accountable. The government rising above the party line must think in this direction and the people, civil society, Muslim groups and human rights organisations must keep on reminding the government,” he said.
Along with any measures to prevent riots, it is the need of the hour to induce morality in our police force so that they can operate in the desired manner without playing any partisan role while dealing with incidents of riots.