The Hindu : National : Send postcards to Manmohan on Bill: Modi

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Wednesday, Sep 03, 2008
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Send postcards to Manmohan on Bill: Modi

Special Correspondent

AHMEDABAD: In a bid to mount public pressure on the Centre for the approval of the Gujarat Control of the Organised Crime bill (GUJCOC) into an act, Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked the people in the State to send mass postcards to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging for early clearance of the bill.

The call was issued by Mr. Modi at a public function in the Panchamahals district where he told the people that the State government was making all efforts to secure presidential assent for the GUJCOC bill pending for more than four years. But it was time when the people also need to lend their voice in support of the measure to build up pressure on the Centre sitting over it for over four years.

Mr. Modi on Sunday during a video conference address to the non-resident Gujaratis settled abroad to send electronic messages to Dr. Singh to the same effect and now converted it into a people’s campaign by giving a call to the people in the State to send post cards to press the demand further. He said he had explained the details of the measure in person to Dr. Singh when he met him in Delhi on Friday. And was confident that Dr. Singh would react positively but it would be better for the people to add to the pressure for an early passage of the bill to fight against terrorism.

He said one of the important provisions of the GUJCOC bill, drafted on the lines of the similar acts in force in Maharashtra, Karnataka and several other Congress-ruled States, which provide for considering as an evidence before the court of law the statements made by the accused terrorists before the police. The provision was missing in the existing ordinary laws and the terrorists take maximum advantage of the loophole to turn hostile in the courts to escape punishment.

Mr. Modi also suggested Dr. Singh to hold a meeting of the Chief Ministers of the economically-developed States which were now in the radars of the terrorist attacks. Calling for an effective co-ordination between the States and the Central agencies to fight against terrorism, he wanted an immediate action plan under the chairmanship of Dr. Singh in this regard.

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