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Gujarat plea to Centre on anti-terror legislation

Manas Dasgupta

GANDHINAGAR: The Gujarat Assembly on Friday adopted by a voice vote an official resolution requesting the central government to take up with the President, Pratibha Patil, to give her assent at the earliest to the state bill against organised crime.

The resolution was piloted by the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Amit Shah, amidst strong protests from the members of the Congress benches who claimed that the many of the provisions of the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime (GUJCOC) bill were in contravention of the existing central laws and regulations to control organised crime.

Waiting for approval

The bill was twice passed by the State Assembly, , but was pending for the central approval for over four years. The bill was once returned to the state for necessary changes when the NDA was in power at the centre, but by the time the amended bill was passed, the power had changed hands in Delhi and the UPA government had so far refused to give its approval.

The Chief Minister Narendra Modi had lately launched a massive campaign, particularly after the July 26 serial bomb blasts in Ahmedabad, to get the bill approved which he maintained was the only instrument to tackle the terrorists and bring them to justice. The Congress, however, opposed it claiming that some of its provisions including giving powers to even lower-ranked police personnel to arrest anyone suspecting of terrorism were draconian. The state Congress president, Sidhhartha Patel, who is also a member of the state Assembly, said the bill in its present form could not be accepted by any government at the centre.

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