CALCUTTA/NEW DELHI, 18 November — The Marxist government of the eastern state of West Bengal said yesterday it will introduce its own bill to fight terrorism as the central government struggled to gain consensus on similar legislation.

The Prevention of Organized Crime Ordinance (POCO) will be introduced in the legislature during the winter session beginning on Dec. 7, P.C. Sinha, West Bengal’s minister for parliamentary affairs said. "POCO has been drafted with the aim to effectively combat terrorism and organized crimes like kidnapping," Sinha said.

"The ordinance was necessitated by the escalation in crimes leading to a new and disturbing situation in the state," Sinha added. The announcement came as Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Home Minister L.K. Advani, met chief ministers of 28 states and five Union territories, to persuade them to adopt the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) legislation.

Vajpayee yesterday urged chief ministers of all provinces and opposition parties to back the tough new law which arms security agencies with greater powers to tackle terrorism. "India is high on the list of terrorists’ targets, but our structures and procedures are lax," Vajpayee told the meeting here. "We have a porous border with several neighbors. Our long sea coast also needs to be better patrolled. A large number of foreign nationals who have come on visitor’s visas have become traceless.

"These vulnerabilities need to be checked," Vajpayee said. He pointed out that in the wake of the Sept. 11 strikes in New York and Washington, many countries had immediately taken steps to tighten immigration laws and procedures. To forge a consensus on the law, the premier called for an all-party meeting later.

Last month, the Union Cabinet approved the POTO 2001, which seeks to curb funding to suspected terrorist groups, confiscate their properties and intercept communication between terrorists.

The ordinance defines terrorism as acts intended "to cause death or injuries ...or loss of damage to property or disruption of essential supplies or services with intent to threaten the unity and integrity of India or to strike terror in any section of the people." However, critics of the legislation said the measure was an attempt to bring back the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA), which lapsed in 1995 and was not revived following protests from political parties and the national human rights commission that it was "draconian."

Most political parties, including the opposition Congress party have opposed the bill saying that it can be grossly misused. In his speech yesterday, Vajpayee urged a "free and frank" debate on the anti-terrorism ordinance saying the central government had taken care to plug all the shortcomings in TADA.

He also emphasized the need for a sound and dependable disaster management system to deal with security and other threats.

Advani, in his speech said POTO was a "comprehensive legislation taking cognizance of terrorist acts, terrorist organizations 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.

Sanctions against countries

sheltering terrorists sought

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee yesterday called for the US-led war on terror to be widened to include sanctions against countries harboring "terrorist organizations".

Vajpayee also said militant groups in Kashmir — where an insurgency allegedly fostered by Pakistan has raged for 12 years — were on the run as a result of the international campaign.

"In our talks with our friends abroad, we have emphasized that the fight against terrorism should not be limited to fighting only certain symbols or symptoms," he told a conference of state chief ministers.

"All murderous groups, wherever they may be — in Kashmir or elsewhere — must be declared as terrorist organizations by all civilized nations," Vajpayee said.

"Their sources of funding have to be plugged. Countries giving safe sanctuaries or any other kind of support to them must be placed under sanctions. "Our view is that unless this is done, the basic problem will remain."