BJP: Communal Violence Bill, a threat to country's unity

The Bharatiya Janata Party here on Saturday attacked the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre for eroding the federal structure of polity to move towards excessive centralism and from democracy to autocracy.

It was a long litany of complaints in a six-page resolution — the Centre had usurped powers of the State given exclusively to them by the Constitution and due resources were being denied. On the concluding day of the party's national executive committee meeting here, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi proposed the resolution while Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi seconded it.

The strongest criticism was reserved for the draft Communal Violence Bill prepared by the National Advisory Council. Spokesperson Shahnawaz Husain described it as “most dangerous to the country's unity.” The resolution argued that since it was now difficult for the Centre to dismiss State governments using Article 356 of the Constitution, the Centre planned to do so in future using the Communal Violence Bill.

The party threatened to use constitutional and legal means to question the moves made by the Centre. It has questioned the setting up of the National Investigation Agency to investigate terrorism related cases, saying it attacks federalism and takes away the States' powers. Not so long ago the Madhya Pradesh government had resisted transferring the Sunil Joshi murder linked to several terrorism cases in Malegaon, Ajmer and the Samjhauta Express to the NIA.

The appointment of Dr. Binayak Sen on a Planning Commission panel on rural health was also seen by the BJP as an attack on federalism since a Chhattisgarh court had held him guilty of sedition. (The issue is now pending before the High Court). The national executive adopted a separate statement on this subject attacking Dr. Sen and even questioning his acknowledged expertise on public health delivery mechanisms as in the past he has served on a similar state level committee.

The Opposition party's charge was that due funds were not being transferred to States, quotas of rice, kerosene and other subsidised essential items had been cut and even the full entitlement of funds for centrally sponsored schemes were not being transferred to States. It also attacked Governors for sitting on legislation passed by State legislatures, refusing to give the necessary nod.

Saying the UPA had created two categories of States, those ruled by the ruling coalition UPA and others by non-UPA parties, the BJP demanded “immediate implementation of the Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State relations.”