Revival of Communal Violence Bill not on NDA government’s list

NEW DELHI: The BJP government is in no mood to revive the Communal Violence Bill even as repeated incidents of communal strife in Uttar Pradesh raise questions on the need for such a legislation which has been in the works since 2005.

There has been no discussion on the Bill at the home ministry, as per a senior Home Ministry official, who added that Home Minister Rajnath Singh is firmly of the view that states should enact such a legislation on their own.

"Law and order is a state subject. So the Communal Violence Bill cannot be thrust on the states. The Centre can only play a advisory role," the top Ministry official told ET.

Former Home Secretary GK Pillai, in whose tenure in 2010-11 UPA made a strong pitch to bring the bill, said the Communal Violence Bill "was not the answer" to prevent communal clashes like the one in Saharanpur.

"We don't have a dearth of laws. What we need is better implementation," Pillai told ET.

He said states need to stop political bidding of the police and come down hard on the first round of communal violence. "The police danda has to be strongest in the first round of communal strife to ensure a stiff message goes out and riot does not spread," Pillai said.

Pillai added in the present circumstances of strong media presence, it was no longer fathomable that a communal riot could go on in collusion with state police. "The Communal Violence Bill was aimed at that sort of a situation which will perhaps not happen in today's day and age. What we instead require is basic old-school policing. How can activity at a disputed area during Ramzan and Eid in a few days escape the police radar?" he asked.

Home Ministry’s long-standing set of guidelines to states on communal harmony insist that preventing a communal riot is far more important that containing it.