NEW DELHI: Home Minister S.B. Chavan and his deputy holding charge of Internal Security, Rajesh Pilot, arc at loggerheads over the revocation of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (prevention) Act (TADA).
The contradictory stand taken by Chavan and Pilot on TADA has put the top officials of the Home Ministry in a piquant situation as its validity expires on May 18 and the Government has to take a decision, ministry sources said.
While the Home Minister has been publicly stating that it would not be possible to repeal TADA in view of the extraordinary situation prevailing in some parts of the country, Pilot has been pressing the Government that it be revoked and the related sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) be strengthened to deal with militant activities. Chavan and Pilot had similarly fallen out on handling of the Kashmir issue last year and Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, created a separate department on Kashmir affairs directly under his charge.
Congress sources say that most of the pan y MPs favor revocation of the “draconian act which they feel was one of the factors that led to the party’s debacle in the recent Assembly elections, particularly in Maharashtra and Gujarat. They felt that the minorities did not support the Congress as most of the victims of TADA belonged to these communities.
Two Union ministers-Ghulam Nabi Azad and C.K. Jaffer Sharief, have openly demanded revocation of TADA. Congress MP and former union minister Mamta Banerjee had recently threatened to stage dharna to the well of the Lok Sabha to press her demand for the repeal of TADA.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 28, 1995
