NEW DELHI: Indian efforts to frame a law to set up a human rights panel remain bogged down as there was poor attendance in the first meeting of the committee of central ministers and chief ministers. The committee was scheduled to meet here on October 12. Four out of five chief ministers were absent. They were the chief ministers of Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The only chief minister who appended the meeting was Rajasthan’s Bhairon Singh Sakhawat. He belongs to the B.J.P. The poor attendance showed a lack of seriousness on the part of ruling parties to the question of human rights. Most people here believe that the proposed human rights commission will go the way the other similar commissions are going such as a commission on minorities, another on scheduled castes and a council to hear complaints against the Indian media, All these institutions are mere paper tigers without affording any relief to the victims.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 23, 1992
