Raje slams Centre for non-clearance of crime protection bill

Jaipur, May 14 (UNI) Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje today assailed the Centre for not clearing the Rajasthan Organised Crime Protection Bill pending for the last two years and stressed the need for enactment of a POTA-like effective law in the country to fight terrorism.

Talking to mediapersons here she said her government had passed and forwarded the Bill to the Centre two years ago.

''Since then the Bill is pending for clearance in the Home Ministry obviously for political reasons'' the Chief Minister said.

Her government had passed bill on the lines of the one passed by Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh, she asserted.

While the Bills of the Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh were cleared long ago by the Centre, the same from Rajasthan and Gujarat had been kept on hold, she alleged.

Ms Raje questioned as to how it was that the Bills from the two Congress ruled states were cleared but the same from two BJP ruled states were kept pending.

She said present laws were preventing the police from fighting out terrorism effectively and the country was in need of a POTA like strigent law.

Action should be taken in this regard at the earliest, she stressed.

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