By Mohammed Siddique, TwoCircles.net,
Hyderabad : The member of Parliament from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi has demanded the government of India to set up a commission to probe the misuse of draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act or POTA by Narendra Modi government in Gujrat. Moving an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha on Thursday in the backdrop of the recent Supreme Court order that POTA can not be used against the people arrested in connection with the Godhra train burning case, Asaduddin Owaisi that the commission should go in to all the cases in which POTA was misused to trap the innocent people in false cases and to destroy their lives.
Though the Speaker Somnath Chatterji rejected the adjournment motion, Owaisi’s move brought the issue of misuse of POTA in Gujrat in to sharp focus and his demand for a commission came on the proceedings of the Parliament.
“The Modi government and his administration misused the POTA with out any legal evidence to portray the accused as terrorist”, he said. “This is a serious crime and the government of India should take action against the responsible people”.
The Supreme Court on a petition filed by Abdul Raheem K Shaikh had issued an order that the cases against the people arrested in connection with Godhara and Aksharadham incidents should not be under the POTA as the provisions of Indian Penal code were sufficient to deal with them.
Owaisi said that the move of the Gujrat government was in serious violation of the constitution and it reflects its communal prejudice and bias. “Because of POTA, the accused remain in jail for the last six and a half years with out bail. By keeping them in jail under POTA and by putting a label of terrorists of them, the Gujrat government has been using it for the electoral mileage”, he said.
The issue is not confined to Gujrat but it is of national importance, he said urging the Speaker to allow a debate in the Parliament on the issue. Oewaisi said that while Supreme Court order will bring some relief to the accused but the central government should also fulfill its responsibility of putting those responsible for the present situation in the dock.