Advani for presidential nod to GUJCOC Bill

New Delhi, Apr 28 : Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani on Monday urged Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to get assent of President Pratibha Devisingh Patil for the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Bill (GUJCOC).

Advani, who lead a delegation of BJP MP's to the Prime Minister, said similar tough laws to curb organised crime and acts of terror were in existence in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi.

The Gujarat Assembly had passed a bill this regard and sent it to President on April 1, 2003.

An amended version of the Bill, incorporating recommendations from then President APJ Abdul Kalam, was sent back for approval on June 19, 2004.

To seek the Prime Minister's personal attention Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had written to him on February 1, 2008, asking him to use his good offices to get the Bill approved. The Gujarat Assembly had passed a non-official resolution on March 9, 2006 seeking Prime Minister's intervention.

Gujarat shares a long border with Pakistan and is vulnerable to infiltration, the BJP MP's claimed adding that security systems available with the ports were inadequate and the State Government's demands more grants.

ANI