A proposed law against communal violence, which has been in limbo for nearly 10 years due to lack of political support, has come back into focus after the Muzaffarnagar riots in which 50 people were killed and nearly 40,000 displaced. Sources say the Bill may be taken up in the next session of Parliament.
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Sources say the government is preparing the groundwork for tabling and passing the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Regulations) Bill 2011, originally drafted in 2005 but reworked after strong objections.
After the communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh last month, Minority Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi asking for the Bill to be fast-tracked.
The latest draft of this Bill had been developed by the National Advisory Council or NAC, a group of activists and civil society representatives chaired by Sonia Gandhi. This version has also sharply divided political parties.
The main Opposition BJP, which has vehemently opposed the Bill, accused the ruling Congress of playing "appeasement politics" ahead of state elections and the national polls due by May. "Why should the UPA government bring this Bill in the first place? Controlling law and order is a state subject. What is required is political will, not a Bill," said BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu.
The Bill was put in cold storage after several regional parties called it an infringement on the powers of a state government, as it allows the Centre to directly intervene in restoring law and order in riot-hit areas without imposing President's rule.
Under the proposed law, government officials will be penalized for failing to protect minorities during communal violence, even if they argue that they acted under orders.
Many political parties including the BJP have opposed the provision that identifies the victim of a communal violence as being the member of a linguistic or religious minority in a state.
The BJP says it is wrong for the proposed Act to presume that those belonging to the majority community are always guilty of initiating communal violence.
Moves to revive the Bill coincide with a massive meeting planned this month to rally non-Congress and non-BJP parties together on a common platform against communal violence, with the Muzaffarnagar clashes as the key focus.
The Left parties and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav have invited leaders like Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa of the AIADMK and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, fueling speculation that the meeting is a stage for future poll alliances.
