On Friday, as Chief Minister Narendra Modi left for New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and underline the need to have a legislation to curb terrorist activities in the state, particularly in the wake of July 26 blasts, the issue of the Gujarat Control of Organised Crimes (GUJCOC) Bill triggered a fresh spat between the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress in the state.

Modi will also apprise the PM of the various measures taken by the police in the state to solve the Ahmedabad blasts case. His party, meanwhile, has started mobilising popular support in the state, through various programmes, for an early clearance of the GUJCOC Bill. The BJP has claimed that the UPA Government at the Centre is keeping the state Government on tenterhooks regarding the Bill.

Gujarat Minister of State for Home Amit Shah said: “The UPA regime is yet to respond to the state Government’s repeated pleas for an early clearance of the Bill, particularly when such a legislation is needed for the speedy trial of those arrested in connection with the blasts.” He added that Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh already have similar legislations, but BJP-ruled states — Gujarat and Rajasthan — were being deprived of such a law.

Countering this, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Shaktisinh Gohil, said there are certain clauses in the Bill that are “draconian” in nature, and may be misused against innocent people. The UPA Government, after repealing POTA, has already asked all the states to use the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), which will help check terrorist activity as well as organised crimes, he contended. Gohil referred to two clauses of the amended GUJCOC Bill, pending with the Centre, which, he says, could be misused by the BJP Government. He objected to the fact that the Bill said “the evidence collected through the interception of wire, electronic or oral communication under the provisions of any other law shall be admissible as evidence against the accused in the court during the trial of a case”.

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