What's POTA? Repealed anti-terror law Amit Shah mentioned in Parliament
What's the story
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday slammed the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for repealing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), 2002. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Shah alleged that the move was aimed at protecting its "vote bank." He recalled that when Atal Bihari Vajpayee's National Democratic Alliance government introduced POTA in 2002, it faced opposition from the Congress. "After coming to power in 2004, the Sonia Gandhi-Manmohan Singh government scrapped the POTA law," he said.
Shah
1,000 people killed in terror attacks.
He questioned the reason behind the opposition opposing the POTA law. "POTA was against the terrorists, but the opposition wanted to save the terrorists by stopping POTA for vote bank politics," a press release by PIB said. According to Shah, under the Congress government, as many as 1,000 people were killed in terror attacks. "Congress kept sending terrorists' photos to Pakistan. Congress shed tears for terrorists killed in Batla House but not police killed by the terrorists," he said.
Law details
What is POTA?
POTA was enacted in March 2002 to bolster anti-terrorism efforts after the 2001 Parliament and 9/11 attacks. The law allowed a suspect's detention for up to 180 days by a special court and defined fundraising for terrorism as a "terrorist act." It also had provisions for dealing with terrorist organizations, allowing the Centre to add or remove them from its schedule.
Repeal reasons
Why POTA was repealed
The UPA government repealed POTA in September 2004, citing concerns over misuse and human rights violations. The Congress-led coalition had said it was worried that POTA "has been grossly misused in the past two years." After its repeal, many provisions of POTA were incorporated into amendments to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).