Jayalalithaa for consensus on POTO

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, NOV. 6. Even while welcoming stringent laws to prevent terrorism, the AIADMK general secretary, Ms. Jayalalithaa, today urged the Centre to work for a national consensus on the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) before enacting it.

In the present situation, it was essential that everyone should accept all sections of the ordinance. Therefore, the Centre must strive for a consensus on the issue, she said in a statement.

Recalling that she had to counter the extremism of the LTTE during her first term as Chief Minister from 1991 to 1996, Ms. Jayalalitha said she fully supported the need for stringent laws to put down extremist activities.

Noting that opposition parties, headed by the Congress, were opposing POTO as ``draconian'', she said it was imperative to save the country from the dangerous situation created by some from the majority and minority communities affecting internal security.

As India was a target of global terrorism, there could be no two opinions on the need to remove it from the country. Only by strengthening the hands of the Government with necessary powers, this could be achieved, she said. ``Thus, stringent laws are not only necessary, but also inevitable.''

However, the special powers given under anti-terrorism laws could be misused on occasion affecting innocent people. ``But, we must remember that people so affected have the right to go to court and correct the wrong done to them,'' she said.

Even now, certain sections of the law were being misused. But, no one could ask for the repeal of such laws to prevent their misuse.

The Indian Penal Code which empowers the police to arrest citizens had often been misused since independence. Those unjustly affected by the misuse of the provisions of the IPC went to court to obtain justice and did not ask for the removal of the IPC, she said.

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