Lucknow: In a major embarrassment to the State Government, the Uttar Pradesh Control of Organised Crime Bill, 2007 was on Tuesday referred to a select committee of the Vidhan Parishad, a day after the Assembly passed it to tackle organised crime and its links with terrorism.

The Bill was presented in the Vidhan Parishad where the Samajwadi Party pressed for referring the matter to the select committee though BJP and RLD members sought a debate on it.

The committee has been given a month’s time to submit its report.

The Government also failed to get through two other bills -- UP District Planning Committee (amendment) Bill, 2007 and UP Cooperative Committee (second amendment) Bill, 2007 -- in the Upper House. While the SP alleged that the ruling BSP wanted to nominate its members in district planning committees through the planning bill there was some confusion among SP members regarding the second bill following which they pressed for lobby division.

The strength of the BSP is 14 whereas the main opposition SP has 38 members followed by BJP 24 and Congress 6 in the 100-member Upper House. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Lalji Verma had on Monday said the tough law was essential to crack down on those indulging in organised crime.

According to the Bill, organised crime would include terrorist activities, kidnapping for ransom, trying to obtain Government tenders by force, contract killings, occupying Government or private land through forged documents, money laundering, human trafficking and manufacturing spurious drugs. PTI

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