Wants panels to review terror cases against youth of minority.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, union home minister Sushikumar Shinde tried to hard sell a dream to woo the minorities that his bureaucrats say is not possible to do.
At his monthly presser, Shinde said he would soon ask all chief ministers to set up advisory committees to review terror cases against youth of minority communities who are languishing in jails without trial.
“I am again writing to all chief ministers saying we will appoint a screening or advisory committee like in the case of POTA. These will be state-level committees,” Shinde said.
Experienced union home ministry bureaucrats, however, failed to demystify Shinde’s “golden words” and failed to clarify if there were any legal provisions in the existing Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) to constitute such advisory committees to review cases against any members of minority groups.
The only provision the UAP Act has is to constitute review committee at the Centre to decide if an organisation or any person is affected by inclusion of the organisation in the Schedule as a terrorist organisation.
The only time, they recollected, a review committee was formed at the centre was through an executive order.
“But the review committee was formed at the Centre to review cases lodged under POTA. As the Centre has no locus standi in cases of states because of the federal character, there is no provision under which it can ask the states to do so,” said an official.
Shinde’s comments immediately drew flak from the BJP that branded it as appeasement at its worst. Hitting out at Shinde, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said, “I don’t understand what is wrong with Shinde. Why should you identify religion of criminals? It’s a dangerous trend. Arrest should be made on the basis of crime and not community.”
Earlier too in September, Shinde had drawn flak from the BJP for writing to the chief ministers to be careful while arresting youth of minority community and to put all terror cases related to the minorities in fast track courts.
“Some of the minority youth have started feeling that they are deliberately targeted and deprived of their basis rights,” he had written in his letter.
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