A Bill seeking stringent punishment including death penalty for hijackers was approved by the Union Cabinet tonight. The government will now withdraw the Anti-Hijacking Amendment Bill, 2010 and introduce a new legislation.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi granted its approval for introduction of the comprehensive Anti-Hijacking Bill 2014, an official release said in New Delhi. The current law, the Anti-Hijacking Act, 1982, was last amended in 1994.
The Cabinet has also given approval to ratify Beijing Protocol, 2010 of the UN body International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to which India is a signatory, the release said.
The Anti-Hijacking Amendment Bill, 2010 was brought after incidents like the hijack of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in 1999 and the September 11, 2001 terror strikes in the United States, reflecting major threats like civilian aircraft being hijacked and used as missiles to cause mass destruction.
Many women were seen clad in 'burqas' (veil) waiting for their turns. "We know that justice has not been done to the victims, but we cannot sit at home doing nothing and wait for something to happen. We have to make something happen and that will only happen when there is some change," a women, who did not wish to be named, said.
She said her vote was not for development but for seeking a change and for justice to their village in general and for the victims in particular. The people in the village said voting for them was a "compulsion" as the area was very poor and needed development.
"We are very poor and it is a compulsion for us to vote to seek development. Our village lacks development... Electricity is very irregular and there are so many other problems that we face. In order to get rid of those problems, we have to vote and select a candidate who addresses these issues," Ghulam Ahmad Dar (63) said.
Dar said those who voted were not against the victims' families, but since the representatives so far had failed to deliver justice, "change becomes imperative". "We are not against them (victims' families). We too want justice for them. But as our representatives so far have failed to deliver, we seek change as it has become imperative," he said.
Dar expressed hope that a new government will fasten the process of delivering justice in the case so that the victims get a sense of closure. "We are hopeful of getting justice under a new government. We want a total change and justice for the victims and our area," he said.
In both the cases -- by protesting peacefully and by the means of casting their votes -- the people in the villages of Kunan and Poshpora may have sought justice by different means, but it is the democracy that won the race in the end.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}