Gujarat Congress Leaders Urge President Mukherjee To Deny Approval Of GTOC Bill
23 May, New Delhi
The MPs’ and MLAs’ representing Gujarat and senior leaders of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee called on President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday and submitted memorandum requesting him to deny approval and return as unsanctioned the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organized Crime (GTOC) Bill ,2015 which was sent to the latter by the Governor or Gujarat
The delegation was led by Bharatsinh Solanki, the president of the GPCC, and Shankersinh Vaghela, Leader of Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly.
In their memorandum, the Congress leaders charged the BJP-ruled state government of attempting to pass what they called a draconian bill.
They said that they had repeatedly stalled this attempt to get the Bill passed on multiple occasions in the past, and reminded that former presidents Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil had also returned the Bill to the state government for a relook.
Addressing the media, Solanki and Vaghela said “We have apprised the Hon. President that the BJP State Government has passed this bill only on the basis of its brute majority and its passage has ignored legitimate concerns. We also apprised the Hon. President that this bill violates the fundamental tenets of our Constitution, and if allowed to be enforced, the state government shall use it as an instrument to, harass and torture political opponents.”
“This bill demonstrates Shri Narendra Modi’s famous Gujarat Model which encourages snooping, illegal detention and police intimidation,” they added.
Reacting on this bill, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said ” This is a draconian law like a Kala Kanoon which can suppress democratic dissent and civil society. I hope it will not be part of the so called Gujarat Model which they want to implement at national level”.
The delegation also met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and party vice president Rahul Gandhi, and discussed in detail the memorandum which was submitted to the President.
Both of them assured that they would go through the memorandum and do the needful.
The Gujarat Congress media statement further stated that the whole Act was drafted with reference to local organized crime, but it was being used to do politics in the name of terrorism.
It said that when the opposition challenged the state government to show a single word on terrorism, the latter merely added the words ‘terrorism and terrorist’ in GUJCOC Act and called it GCTOC
The statement further said that both Presidents Kalam and Patil had suggested amendments in provisions related to telephone interception and confessions made before police officers being considered as evidence in court.
The other prominent leaders who were present included Shaktisinh Gohil, National Spokesperson and MLA N.Ravani, Ex-MP Nareshbhai Rawal, Ex-Minister of the Gujarat Government Rajubhai Parmar, Ex-MP Tushar Chaudhury, Ex-Union Minister MLAs , MPs and office bearers of the AICC from Gujarat and office bearers GPCC.