NEW DELHI, Dec 22 ? Under attack of the Opposition for turmoil in Manipur over the contentious Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil today said that there was no consensus on withdrawal of the Act. Defending Centre?s handling of the situation in Manipur in the Rajya Sabha today, Sri Patil said that there were differences over the Act among the people of the state.
?About 40 different groups came and talked to us. Some said that the Act should be withdrawn, some opposed it?s withdrawal, while some spoke about amending the Act,? the Union Home Minister said referring to his Manipur visit undertaken in September. Following the demand made by the general public and civil groups, a committee headed by Justice Jeevan Reddy, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India has been constituted to review the AFSPA.
The Committee would review the provisions of the Act and advise whether to amend the provisions of the Act to bring them in consonance with the obligations of the Government towards protection of human rights or to replace it by a more humane Act, the Minister said. Members in the Upper House, however, were unrelenting in their criticism asking the Minister about steps taken to instil confidence among the people and measures taken to rehabilitate the victims of the police action in the aftermath of the agitation lunched against the Act. ?What steps has the Government taken to instil confidence among the boys and girls and those affected by police action,? asked left M.P. Manoj Bhattacharya.
In response, Sri Patil said that though they would like to be sympathetic to all, these issues needed to be examined closely and Manipur Government has to be consulted, he said, declining to make any commitment. Assuring the House that the guilty personnel would not be spared, the Minister admitted that there were instances of excesses. The State Government has to examine the cases and take action, he added.
He was responding to a question by Motilal Sarkar, who wanted to know whether the Centre has made any estimate of the excesses committed by armed forces and actions taken against them. Sarla Maheswari of the CPI-M wondered why Government of India could not withdraw the AFSPA, when it could repeal the POTA. There has been an agitation in Manipur and women have posed nude in the State and yet the Government has not taken any action on the Manorama Devi rape case, she charged.
The Government of India and the police does not want to terrorise but to protect the people and make life easier for them, he said, adding that if needed the Parliament would be consulted on the fate of the Act. Clarifying that during his Manipur visit, he did not hold dialogue with the underground, Sri Patil said that some people were using guns to terrorise the public, while others were spreading rumours to create terror. All circumstances have to be considered, he added.
Manipur is not burning and the situation in the State for the last 50 years was disturbed though it seems to be improving now, he asserted. It was also stated that no militant outfits from Manipur have come forward for peace talks till now.
Meanwhile, violence continued unabated in the North-east. In reply to a separate question, Minister of State for Home Affairs, S Reghupathy said that during the year 368 extremists, 357 civilians and 84 security personnel were killed in the region in various incidents.