NEW DELHI, 8 November — In a bid to evolve its strategy to take on the opposition in the winter session of parliament during a debate on the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) and dispel misgivings, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government yesterday held a meeting for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners, a few ministers and some BJP MPs.
The meeting was convened by Home Minister L.K. Advani, the brain behind the ordinance. A presentation was also made at the meeting with pictures and slides in which several provisions of the POTO and the notions against it were explained by the Home Ministry officials.
Talking to reporters, after the meeting, Law Minister Arun Jaitley, sought to allay the apprehensions voiced by the opposition parties, saying these were misplaced and based on “factually incorrect” information.
According to Jaitley, “statements by the political leaders in this regard are being made without reading the law. There are no such provisions in POTO like disclosure of source by journalists or the onus of proving innocence lies with the accused.”
Railway Minister Nitish Kumar said that several misplaced notions were dispelled at the meeting. Several of the provisions were entirely different than the previous anti-terror law —TADA, and did not sound “very harsh.” The opposition’s campaign against the ordinance was based on “non-existent issues,” Nitish said.
The Law Commission has also reiterated that a stringent terrorism law with necessary safeguards against its misuse is essential to effectively deal with cross-border terrorism.
