Mohan Bhagwat attacks draft communal violence bill

NEW DELHI: RSS targeted the National Advisory Council, questioning its constitutional standing and castigating the draft communal violence bill as a “distorted ideology which will destroy the spirit of the Constitution”.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said no one knew what powers were wrested with the NAC. “Is this country run by Cabinet or by such elements with a distorted and anti-national mind,” he said adding that the Supreme Court had raised questions on the ‘credentials’ of a few NAC members.

However, he did not specify any names of the members of the body, which is headed by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Addressing swayamsevaks on Dussehra in Nagpur, he asked how can a committee with ‘controversial people’ draft the bill.

“How can the government justify its display on an official website without a debate on it?” He alleged that the bill was a product of “perverted minds set to destroy national unity and divide the society on communal lines”.

Describing it as a legislation which would be detrimental to democratic values”, he said any attempt to bring the legislation in that form will be met with disapproval and resistance by the people.

He said the bill would provide wide-ranging powers to an extra-constitutional body like NAC “which is against the basic principles of public administration”.

BJP had denounced the draft communal violence bill saying it will encourage minority communalism, intrude into domain of states, make only Hindus culpable and create discord in inter-community relations. It had also said it was a law fraught with dangerous consequences and was bound to be misused.