The leaders of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Saturday demanded withdrawal of the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill 2011 and called for dissolving the National Advisory Council (NAC), which recommended the formulation such a bill.
Inaugurating the Hindu Ekatha Sammelan organised in connection with the international meet of the VHP, Ashok Singhal, its international president said that the bill would deprive the Hindu community of their rights. The bill was brought in to humiliate and usurp the rights being enjoyed by the Hindu community in the country. Besides, it would divide the society into Muslims, Christians and Hindus. The UPA government headed by Prime Minister Manmoham Singh was resorting to the same British policy of dividing the society and weakening the Hindu communities.
Speaking at the function, Praveen Togadia, international general secretary of the VHP, called for dissolving the National Advisory Council headed by Sonia Gandhi and “criminally prosecuting” all its members for proposing such a bill. He said that the provisions of the bill went against the principles of international jurisprudence. As per one of the principles, the burden of proof was on the prosecution and the complainant. However, according to the bill, the onus of providing evidence had been shifted on the accused. Besides, international jurisprudence said that the accused was presumed to be innocent until he was found guilty by a court of law. But, the bill had done away with these principles and painted the entire Hindu community as “a criminal tribe”.
The meeting was attended by social and religious leaders, among others.
