The Hindu : Front Page : POTA will be repealed: President

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Tuesday, Jun 08, 2004

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POTA will be repealed: President

By Harish Khare

The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, arrives to deliver his address to the joint session of Parliament on Monday. He is accompanied by the Vice-President, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Somnath Chatterjee, and the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad. — Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

NEW DELHI, JUNE 7. In his Address to the two Houses of Parliament, the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, today outlined the Manmohan Singh Government's agenda for the next five years. While a sharp departure from the Vajpayee Government's political and social policies defines the Address, it promises to carry forward the process of economic reforms but with a human face, "making a billion people smile."

The Address turns out to be the first coherent statement of purpose of the new Government that came into power after the elections to the 14th Lok Sabha. It, predictably, borrows copiously from the United Progressive Alliance's Common Minimum Programme but it takes care to pace the expectations, promising to find resources for many of the commitments only over the next five years.

"It will be the sincere effort of the Government to implement the programme during the next five years. However, the precise content and phasing of the programmes will depend on both the availability of resources and the pace of improvement of the absorptive capacity of various sectors," cautions the President.

The Address also stresses that quest for "efficiency and equity" will be undertaken "while maintaining a high degree of fiscal discipline."

President Kalam, however, asserts unambiguously that the electorate have voted for a change from the ways things were being done the last six years. According to him, it "is indicative of people's yearning for inclusiveness — economic, social and cultural — and their rejection of the forces of divisiveness and intolerance. The verdict is for establishing the rule of law and repairing our secular fabric."

The President reiterates the Manmohan Singh Government's commitment to do away with the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). It asserts that "while there can be no compromise on the fight against terrorism," the Government believes that the existing laws should be adequate." Consequently, it "proposes to repeal POTA." The Address does not indicate any time frame for the repeal.

The most inspired part of the Address is the expression of sensitivity on the "issue of affirmative action, including reservation in the private sector." It proposes that the Government "will initiate a dialogue with political parties, industry and other bodies on how best the private sector can fulfil the aspirations of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes."

The President commits his Government to fighting "the forces of communalism," which manifested themselves in Gujarat. The Manmohan Singh Government will undertake to adopt a "model law to deal with communal violence and encourage States to adopt it" as part of its resolve "to promote and maintain communal peace and harmony so that minorities feel completely secure." It also promises to examine the question of giving constitutional status to the Minorities Commission.

Saffronisation to be rolled back

On Ayodhya, the Address reiterates the UPA's known position: "Await the verdict of the courts while encouraging negotiations between parties to the dispute for an amicable settlement, which, in turn, must receive legal sanction." In the same vein, the President promises to roll back saffronisation of the textbooks by taking steps "to remove the communalisation of the school syllabus that has taken place in recent years."

The President also undertakes to deepen the process of cooperative federalism. The Address promises a second Sarkaria Commission that will look at Centre-State relations "in view of the sea-changes that have taken place in the polity and economy of India" in the last 20 years. It says the Government "will consider the demand for the formation of a Telangana state at an appropriate time after due consultations."

The Government undertakes to "respect the letter and spirit of Article 370 of the Constitution that accords a special status to Jammu and Kashmir," besides promising to continue the dialogue process "with all groups and with different shades of opinion in Jammu and Kashmir." Similarly, the Government puts on record its determination to "tackle terrorism, militancy and insurgency in the northeast as a matter of urgent national priority."

On foreign policy, the Address promises "an independent foreign policy" as well as continuation of the "dialogue with Pakistan on all outstanding issues" on a "sustained basis within the framework of the Shimla Agreement and all subsequent agreements between the two Governments, including the Joint Statement of January 6, 2004."

The foreign policy section reflects a subtle shift away from the hitherto overdependence on the United States.

The Address seems a collective effort of the alliance partners in and out of the coalition Government. It offers something to all, though not every partner is likely to be satisfied with it completely.

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