BeyondHeadlines News Desk
New Delhi: Main opposition BJP and the government are against each other on the proposed draft of the Communal violence bill over the presumption that communal strife is always the handiwork of the majority community.
Arun Jaitley, leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha told media, “The draft bill argues that communal trouble is created only by members of the majority community and never by a member of the minority community. Identical offences committed by minority groups against the majority are not deemed offences at all.” It will damage inter-community relations, he argued.
The bill, in its present form, is binding on all states and will thus intrude into the federal polity, he added.
His argument is that regarding a particular community as a perpetual victim is not right and will only increase the tension, instead of resolving disputes.
The bill was drafted by the National Advisory Council, led by UPA chairperson and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi. He bluntly said, “The drafting of this bill appears to be a handiwork of those social entrepreneurs who have learnt from the Gujarat experience of how to fix senior leaders even when they are not liable for an offence.”
He also criticised the clause 16 of the bill that “renders orders of superiors as no defence for an alleged offence committed under this section.”
Jaitley’s main argument is that crimes committed during communal tensions are law and order problem, in which Centre has no direct role. The bill, however, supersedes this jurisdiction.
He alleged that it is “bound to be misused” and encourage “minority communalism.”
