Faced with criticisms against the proposed legislation to rein in organised crime in the State, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said the Government will not enact a law that violated human rights.
Informing the Assembly on Monday that a committee chaired by the Chief Secretary had been constituted to examine and frame a draft legislation for organised crime control, Mr. Vijayan said that the Government was yet to take a final decision on enacting the law.
The panel comprised Additional Chief Secretary, Home and Vigilance; Secretary, Law Department; and former Additional Advocate General and senior legal counsel K.K. Raveendranath.
Several laws in place
Members of the Opposition, including Ramesh Chennithala and K. Babu, questioned the rationale behind the law when several legislations were already in force to prevent such crime. They accused the Government of framing a “black law” that could legalise preventive detentions for up to 180 days, even when the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) had been opposing the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and similar laws.
K.K. Rema asked whether the alleged failure of the Home Department in implementing the existing laws had necessitated the “anti-people law.”
Dismissing such allegations, the Chief Minister said such claims were unfounded since the government had not adopted a stance in the matter. Maintaining that the Home Department had not made any draft legislation, he said that the proposal had been raised by former State Police Chief Loknath Behera.
While Ms. Rema alleged that the nexus between crime syndicates and the police had been evident in cases, including the T.P. Chandrasekharan murder case, Mr. Vijayan retorted that the particular case had been investigated during the United Democratic Front (UDF) Government’s rule.
Fashion Gold scam
While the Fashion Gold jewellery scam in which the former MLA of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) M.C. Kamaruddin was an accused cropped up during the discussion, Mr. Vijayan said that the Government had adopted steps to expedite the case. The topic led to frayed tempers when N. Samsudheen of the IUML claimed that the case was not an organised crime, but an instance of business falling apart.
His remark invited the wrath of the Chief Minister who dubbed it a shameless attempt to justify a crime.
