The Rajya Sabha, on the 2nd of August, passed the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment (UAPA) Bill, 2019, introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP.)
On the 24th of July, the BJP tabled the Bill in the Lok Sabha, which empowers the Government to declare an individual a terrorist.
According to the UAPA Bill, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other agencies which deal with terrorism will be given the power to seize an individual’s property until he/she is proven innocent. The Bill also gives power to the authorities to identify not just terrorist group, but also individuals as terrorists.
The UAPA Bill, 2019 got a total of 147 votes in favour of the amendments to it, whereas 42 votes were against the amendments.
Amit Shah, the Home Minister of India, shared his views regarding the reason for the amendments and said the only reason for introducing the UAPA Bill is fighting against terrorism.
Shah said, “This (UAPA) Act is to fight terror and has no other purpose. It is important to identify terrorists and not just organisations.” He further raised a question, “Why are we scared of naming terrorists?”
When P. Chidambaram, a member of the Indian National Congress (INC,) asked why the authorities can’t ban organisations instead, Shah said, “Chidambaram ji asked why to name an individual as a terrorist when the organisation they are affiliated to is already banned? It is because we ban one organisation, another one comes up by the same individuals. Till when will we keep banning organisations?”
Amit Shah explained the process which will be followed under the Bill and said a scrutiny will take place in four stages, following which, an individual will be tagged as a terrorist.
He also asked the opposition parties to keep aside the political issues and think about national security.
The Rajya Sabha rejected a proposal moved by opposition parties to send the Bill to a Select Committee of the Parliament for further scrutiny.
The INC, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and other opposition parties were against the Bill and demanded the Bill be sent to a Select Committee for scrutiny. However, the Rajya Sabha turned down the request and passed the Bill.
After the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and the Triple Talaq Bill, 2019, the UAPA Bill, 2019, is the third bill which was passed by Rajya Sabha in past few days.
Stay tuned for further updates.
