President of the All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan condemned the UPA government for rushing through amendments to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) Bill on November 30 without allowing discussion in the Parliament, railroading the objections of CPI, CPIM, AIMDK, JDP and MIM.
UPA had come to power on the promise of repealing the grossly misused POTA but it was quick to enact an amended UAPA which incorporated all the draconian features of POTA. UAPA was further strengthened by a number of amendments ever since. Now the latest amendment declares even “economic” offences and dealing with fake currency notes as “terrorism” and has raised the period of ban on a “terrorist” organisation from two to five years.
Just as TADA, POTA and the amended UAPA were abused with impunity by our police and security agencies, the latest amendments will give them more leverage to criminalise innocent people, especially Muslim youth who have been singled out by their thousands by this minority-friendly government. The umpteen acquittals after long years of incarceration and extremely slow judicial process show that this government is following the same anti-minority policies of the NDA. With more teeth, the new avtar of UAPA will be even more misused. In these circumstances it is the duty of all Muslims, peoples and human rights organisations to condemn this draconian move and demand the repeal of this terrorist law. Honest application of ordinary laws is more than enough to deal with the scourge of terrorism.