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Congress : Sonia for review of POTO-like laws of own govts |
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Embarrassed by some of its own governments legislating laws similar to the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO), Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has asked Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna to have a second look at Karnataka Control of Organised Crimes (KCOC) Bill, 2001. The CM said after meeting Sonia that ‘’we will have to compare the provisions of POTO and our own Bill which is awaiting Presidential assent.’’ Besides Karnataka, Maharashtra and Assam also have POTO-like laws. The Congress, which has been vociferously protesting against the POTO, has been forced to take another look at laws passed by Congress-ruled states to enable it to find a way out of the contradictory positions within the party over the issue. Krishna said his government brought the Bill forward to ‘’control mafia activities and organised crime’’ in the state.
The BJP has retaliated to the opposition attack on POTO pointing to the laws in even Congress-ruled states with similar laws. The CPI-M has just shot down a West Bengal move to enact a law to control crime, which also gave the police wide powers. The Congress is planning a major attack on the BJP-led NDA over POTO, charging it was aimed at harassing the minorities as part of the BJP’s anti-Muslim agenda.
Bid to grow out of Janpath coterie
Sonia Gandhi is trying hard to get out of the coterie surrounding her, which she feels has done more harm than good to her claiming to protect her interests. As the time for assembly polls nears, she is determined to improve the image of the Congress, Uttar Pradesh is very crucial for the party as it is not only battling the ruling BJP, but also the Samjwadi party and the BSP which have their own constituencies of Yadavs, Muslims, dalits and backward castes. The coterie is a protective shield comprising trusted leaders, advisors and family loyalists which has become unpopular for erecting a wall of non-communication around Sonia. Realising the negative utility of this band, Sonia is now resorting to the compartmentalised approach. She has classified various leaders exclusively for certain areas. This would help her to get specialised inputs on different subjects. The influence of Vincent George, Private secretary and close aide and Natwar Singh are reported to be on the decline.
The micro-team of Sonia are Arjun Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, Manmohan Singh and Jaipal Reddy. These leaders specilaise on different subjects of importance to the party chief. On State politics and PCC matters, Sonia depends on trusted aids like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kamal Nath and Ambika Soni. Shivraj Patil is reported to be ahead of N.D. Tiwari in the race to replace the late Madhavrao Scindia as deputy leader in the Lok Sabha.
Sonia has been asked to keep up the offensive against the BJP by her advisors. |She gone all out to attack the POTO.and charging the BJP with failure on all fronts. The industrial policy as well as agricultural policy were flayed for being anti-people and and anti-worker. She also cautioned on the dangers of the Afghan war fallout on India with town like Malegaon town in Maharashtra erupting into violence, with the police battling the Muslim youth who were swayed by the call of Osama Bin Laden to fight the US. She asked the party CMs to ensure communal harmony and the minorities felt secure.
The Congress has been under pressure for support to the creation of separate states of Telengana and Vidarbha It has been unable to take a definite stand and asked the Centre to set up another States Reorganisation Commission to go into the whole issue of smaller states.
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