The Other Killing

Between the protests and outrage over Haren Pandya's murder, the Narendra Modi government rushed through as many as seven bills in the assembly. All in a matter of 30 minutes even as the entire Opposition was on its feet demanding a discussion on Pandya's shocking murder. They shouted slogans, rushed into the well of the House, tore apart the bills and flung microphones when the Speaker refused any discussion. It did not stop the ruling BJP from passing the bills which are likely to have long-time effects. Never mind if the Congress has now gone to Governor S.S. Bhandari, who's refused to budge even after cases of "constitutional crisis".

Among the seven bills, two are highly contentious: the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Bill and the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Bill, which the Opposition alleged was to further consolidate the BJP's communal agenda. The religion bill bans conversion by force and allurement. It makes it compulsory for every person converting to another religion to inform the district magistrate and the 'converter' to seek the government's permission.

"The provisions of the bill are such that the government can fix anyone whenever it wishes," says Father Cedric Prakash of the United Christian Forum for Human Rights. It proposes jail terms from one year to four years and fines from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 lakh for contravention of its provisions. Father Prakash argues that the bill is aimed to target the minorities, especially the Christians and Muslims of the state. He says that the bill has been mindlessly copied from the latest Tamil Nadu conversion bill and is many times more draconian.

Similarly, the organised crime bill allows the police to intercept telecommunication systems, and defines abetment widely enough to inspire rampant misuse. The definition of abetment in the bill is: "abet with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, includes (i) the communication or association with any person with the actual knowledge or having reason to believe that such person is engaged in assisting in any manner an organised crime syndicate; (ii) the passing on or publication of, without any lawful authority, any information likely to assist the organised crime syndicate and the passing on or publication of or distribution of, any document or matter obtained from the organised crime syndicate and (iii) the rendering of any assistance, whether financial or otherwise, to the organised crime syndicate." Maximum punishment under this bill is death sentence, imprisonment for life or a fine of Rs 10 lakh and the minimum, three years in jail and a Rs 3 lakh-fine. Between a freedom bill and a control bill, Gujarat should be a worried state.