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Political Notes

	December 03, 2007

Centre rules out revival of POTA



Home Minister Shivraj Patil has ruled out revival of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) which was repealed by the UPA Government after it came to power. He was replying to clarifica¬tions sought in Parliament during a discussion on the recent serial blasts in Uttar Pradesh. He turned down a BJP suggestion to have a new law on the lines of POTA. He said some of the POTA provisions have been included in the Unlawful Activities Act.



Patil said that the Prime Minister will convene a meeting of Chief Ministers within a fortnight to tighten internal security and fight terrorism.



Condemning the UP blasts, the Home Minister said there was no point in the Central and State governments blaming each other after an incident occurred. There was need for what he called actionable intelligence at the state level. Emphasising that there was no link between acts of terror and any community or religion, Patil said, “Terrorism is a different religion in itself.”



In a suo moto statement in the Lok Sabha, the Home Minister sought the cooperation of political parties, civil society, media and the public at large in the fight against terrorism.



Union Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal has said that the Uttar Pradesh government had been alerted about the possibility of terror attacks at public places.



Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, on her part, has blamed the Centre for increasing incidents of terrorism. Speak¬ing at an annual police parade in Lucknow on Nov. 28, she said that the Union Government was responsible for guarding the inter¬national borders from where militants infiltrated into the state. She claimed that the recent blasts were triggered by militants from across the border.



Observers say Mayawati appeared to be reacting to Governor T.V. Rajeshwar’s remarks about the ‘coordinated and concerted’ manner in which terrorists carried out serial blasts in three UP cities last month.



The United National Progressive Alliance, on its part, has criticised what it called the Centre’s laxity in controlling terrorism and hit out at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for the terror attacks in Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi. Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav said that Mayawati has not done anything tangible to maintain peace in Uttar Pra¬desh.





UP sets up anti-terrorist squad



The Uttar Pradesh Government on Nov. 26 decided to set up an anti-terrorist squad on the lines of Maharashtra to effectively deal with growing incidents of terror in the state. Chief Min¬ister Mayawati said that the Government has also decided to strengthen the intelligence system by creating a separate cadre.





Maoists kill 10 jawans in Chhattisgarh



Twelve persons including 10 security personnel were killed in a mine blast in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh on Nov. 29. The blast was reportedly triggered by CPI Maoists. The Naxalites walked away with sophisticated weapons of the jawans killed.





AIIMS chief removed



The Centre moved fast on Friday evening (Nov. 30) notifying the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Post-graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (Amendment) Act and appointed T.D. Dogra acting director for one month. Following the notification, it removed P. Venugopal as AIIMS Director.



The controversial law, seeking to fix an age limit of 65 for the AIIMS and PGI Directors, was seen as a move to ease out Dr. Venugopal.



A Health and Family Welfare Ministry order said Dr. Venugo¬pal ceased to be the Director following the notification of the Amendment Act, 2007.



The Health and Family Welfare Minister in his capacity as AIIMS president, appointed Dr. Dogra , seniormost professor as the acting director.



Earlier, the Government notified the Bill within hours of receiving presidential assent. President Pratibha Patil signed the Bill two days after Parliament passed the Bill amid protests from the BJP and the AIADMK which said the Government was targeting the 66-year old cardiac surgeon who has had a running battle with Health Minister Ramadoss.



On Friday, the Supreme Court decided to hear a writ petition filed by Dr. Venugopal challenging the Bill passed by Parliament fixing an upperage limit of 65 for the AIIMS director. A Bench consisting of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishna and Justice R.V. Raveendran fixed the date after senior counsel Mukul Rohtagi “mentioned” the matter in the court on Friday for early hear¬ing.





Karnataka Assembly dissolved



The Karnataka Assembly has been dissolved and the stage set for fresh elections ending the uncertainty after the collapse of BJP-led government on Nov. 19. Earlier, Parliament approved the imposition of President’s Rule in Karnataka on Nov. 26. During the debate on the issue, there was across the floor unanimity on the need for dissolving the Assembly at the earliest so that elections could be held to end the stalemate in the state.