City activists held a press conference on Friday to demand that the government table the new Communal Violence Bill. But the activists are backing the bill prepared by National Advisory Council (NAC) and not the government’s draft .
Stating that it was long overdue, they said it reflects poorly on the UPA which has been promising the bill’s implementation since its first term. “The present draft is better as it holds the police and the executive accountable. It increases the ambit of sexual assault. It also makes rehabilitation of the victim a right rather than just compensation,” said Irfan Ali Engineer, of the All India Secular Forum.
The NAC’s draft has also introduced a provision of command responsibility that will keep a check on senior police officials in case of riots. “In most cases, the police is not very active, which is why riots do not end within a few hours. We have also made a provision of command responsibility,” said Faraf Naqvi of NAC.
