Mamata Banerjee joins BJP to veto UPA's Prevention of Communal Violence Bill

India Today News, http://m.indiatoday.in/itwapsite/story?sid=150840&secid=175

The UPA government's key ally, Mamata Banerjee, on Saturday sprang up a surprise as she joined the BJP in objecting to the Prevention of Communal Violence Bill, drafted by the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC). Mamata, apparently still miffed over the Teesta issue, skipped the National Integration Council (NIC) meeting in Delhi which was called after a gap of three years. Her representative and West Bengal's finance minister Amit Mitra spelt out the Trinamool Congress's stand on the issue. "Our government has serious objections to the introduction of such a Bill. The contemplated Bill is tantamount to a direct intervention of constitutional and functional powers of a state government and undermines the very principle of federalism. "Instead of bringing such a Bill, we suggest that if serious violence breaks out in a state, the Centre should commit to give full cooperation to the state in handling such an exigency," Mitra said. He said the discussion "on such a Bill will create confusion and generate controversy among the people". His party's leader and railway minister Dinesh Trivedi, too, said the Trinamool was opposed to the NAC's draft in its present form. Though the Trinamool's argument against the draft Bill was different from the BJP's - which says the proposed legislation is biased against the majority community - it stunned the government. Sensing that the UPA's key ally, as well as many chief ministers, was dead against the NAC draft, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had to assure the gathering that states would be consulted before the Bill is introduced in Parliament and that he did not intend to disturb the federal structure. BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley led the charge against the NAC draft. They were strongly supported by the chief ministers of the NDA-ruled states. Home secretary R. K. Singh later said he could not commit if the Bill would be introduced in the winter session of Parliament. "A large number of CMs expressed the view that some aspects of the draft Bill encroaches their jurisdiction... We will keep in mind the objections of the CMs before finalising the Bill," he said. Speeches read out on behalf of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Mayawati, who were both absent, showed the criticism was not limited to the BJP. "…(An) impression may be created among the people at large that the majority community is always responsible for communal incidents, which may cause sharp reactions among people of the majority communities. This will ultimately go against the minorities and will have adverse effect over the basic objective of the Bill," Nitish said. Criticising the provision which he said "amounts to unnecessary interference in the state government's jurisdiction", Nitish said the Centre can invoke constitutional provisions if a state fails in its "raj dharma". Mayawati said she won't comment on the Bill as she had not seen the draft. She slammed the Centre for seeking the states' views without sending them the draft. Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik and Punjab's Parkash Singh Badal, too, were of the view that the Bill steps on the state's powers and is dangerous for federalism. Earlier, Sushma criticised the NAC draft as a "dangerous one" and said: "This Bill considers no person as a citizen or a human… It only divides India as a majority and a minority community." Absentee CMs Eight CMs, including two of Congress- ruled states, skipped the NIC meeting - Mamata Banerjee, Narendra Modi, Jayalalithaa, Nitish Kumar, Mayawati, Parkash Singh Badal, Ashok Gehlot and Ooman Chandy. Objections to the bill The Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Justice and Reparation) Bill has been drafted by the NAC headed by Sonia Gandhi It will apply to communal violence targeted against religious and linguistic minorities and the SC/STs There are two main criticisms against the Bill - it makes a distinction between victims on grounds of religion & language; it encroaches upon states' powers that is against federal structure The Bill makes provisions for probe, trial, penalty & damages for violence against minorities It hurts the federal structure by touching upon provisions which are the exclusive domain of the states, such as compensation It allows the central govt to declare cases of communal violence as ' internal disturbance', which will give it the power to invoke Article 355 to intervene in such cases