“Prevention of communal and targeted violence bill 2011 is laughabale and instead of dumping it burn it”

The brain storming session on Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence held today at IPF seminar hall. A number of academicians, journalists, lawyers ,former  civil servants  and activists participated in the session. It was resolved that the bill  is an attempt to damn the basic structure of the Indian Constitution. Moreover,  it is an attack on the federal cahracter and a ploy to divert nation’s attention from the real issues the nation is facing.  Those present and spoke include : Sh R Venkatnarayanan, former Secretary , Govt of India, RNP Singh, a rtd officer from the Intelligence  Bureau, and mamaging editor of Eternal India, Rajesh Gogna, Rambahadur Rai, sr journalist and activist, Rajesh Gogna , sr Lawyer, Prof Rajvir Sharma(Pol Sc, University of Delhi) Prof Madhukar Shyam Chaturvedi(deptt of Pol Sc, Jaypur University), Satish Pednekar, (deputy Bureau Chief Jansatta), Prof Rakesh Sinha (hon, Director IPF). The Foundation received four papers dealing various dimensions of the Bill. IPF will publish a critique of the Bill and launch a massive publc discussion on the issue.

1. The Bill  dilutes and destroys the concept and sanctity of Indian citizenship- it devides indian Citizens in two categories , one, “Group” which consists of religious and linguistic minorities. No where in the constitution the term ‘minority’  is defined. The drafting committee brought Muslim . Christians and also SC/ST in the orbit of the Group. SC/ ST have been clubbed with so called minorities only to enjoy the privilege of not getting dubbed as communal. The Ministry of Minority Affairs when preparing the  Bill for the Equal Opportunity Commission(recommended by the Sachar Committee) too  tried to rope SC in the purview of the EOC. The same people who drafted the bill and sheding crocodile tears , recommemded to dereserve those Schedule caste constituenciese where substantial number of Muslims live. Two, “others” – rest of the citizens  defined as others.

• It recommends two sets of CrPc for the Gropu and Others.

• It  destroys the federal character, usurups the jurisdiction of the state.

• It is a tool to amnd the constitution in a shrewd and simple manner.

• It creates parallel authorities in the center and state

• It makes the bureaucracy and police slave of the minority leadership

• Minority veto is invented in tehBill.

• Onus of communal riots is thrown on the Hindus

• ‘Minorities’ are presented as permanenet ‘victims’ of the Hindu majority, policeforces, bureaucracy, judicairy.

• Authorities created at the center was empowered to use Artilce 355  as a children’s toy.

• It assumes “tyranny of the Hindu majoritarainsim”.

The Bill is not to be dumped but to be burnt. The civil soceity must take it seriously and defeat the larger conspiracy and the forces  behind the bill.