Author: Sidharth Mishra/Rajesh Kumar
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: August 2, 2006
The Union of India and the Prime Minister
of India do not have concurring views on matters of internal security. The
documents available with The Pioneer suggest that the two have different opinions
on the effectiveness of the anti-terror Prevention of Terrorist Activities
(POTA) Act.
Addressing media-persons in St Petersburg
on July 16 this year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had stated: "It is
far from true that POTA is the only means to deal with the terrorists ...there
are many other ways."
He was responding to the demand of Leader
of Opposition in Lok Sabha LK Advani to bring back the anti-terror act in
the wake of the spurt in terrorist activities generally and Mumbai blasts
particularly.
A week after the Prime Minister made the statement
on the sidelines of the G-8 summit, the advocates of Union of India appointed
by the Ministry of Law made a submission before the Unlawful Activities (Prevention)
Tribunal which runs contrary to the views of Manmohan Singh.
The panel is examining the merit in the Government
notification proclaiming a ban on Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI),
alleged to be involved in the Mumbai blasts.
The submission said: "The SIMI has maintained
a significant level of activity despite the ban. The acquittal of Shahid Badr
Falahi (SIMI president) by a Delhi Court, release of eight SIMI activists
accused in Ghatkopar bomb blast and subsequent repeal of POTA have boosted
the morale of SIMI cadre. Hoping that the ban on SIMI would be lifted sooner
than later they have been making concerted efforts to regroup their activists/sympathisers."
The apprehensions expressed by the advocates
of Union of India in their deposition is substantiated by the fact that the
Manmohan Singh Government soon after coming to power had scrapped POTA and
had also allowed the initial ban imposed on SIMI by the NDA Government to
lapse.
The deposition has another interesting revelation
that SIMI cadres are active in the States, which are ruled by parties who
had opposed POTA on grounds of it being anti-Muslim.
"SIMI leaders have been touring different
parts of India to motivate cadres, step-up the recruitment process, raise
funds and coordinate activities with other Muslim organisations. The training
and motivational activities of SIMI in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal,
Uttar Pradesh and Kerala included drill with lathis and swords and training
in judo and karate. The activities of SIMI show that the organisation continues
to adhere to its ideological extremism, which rejects the basic tenets of
the Indian Constitution, viz., democracy and secularism," the deposition
states.
For the record, all these States are ruled
by UPA constituents, which had made scrapping of POTA a major issue during
the 2004 parliamentary polls.
