M A I N   N E W S

Joint session on POTO likely
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 20
Even as Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today said the government was making efforts for evolving a consensus on the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) despite the Opposition’s objections with the coming Assembly elections in mind, there are indications that the government might go in for a joint session of Parliament for converting the ordinance into a law.

While the Prime Minister told a meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Party that the Opposition to POTO was “politically motivated” and some parties had made it an election issue, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan said he was keeping all options open, including getting parliamentary approval for the POTO.

Quoting Article 108 of the Constitution, which elaborates on joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament, Mr Mahajan said the combined strength of the NDA, along with the NCP and AIADMK, was 433 while the combined strength of the opposition was 349.

However, Mr Mahajan hastened to add that the government had the option of a joint session but it had not made its mind yet.

In the past, the government had used Article 108 of the Constitution twice, Mr Mahajan said. Between May 6 and 9, 1959, the government had convened a joint sitting of Parliament for the Dowry Prohibition Bill and then on May 16, 1978, for the Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Bill again.

The Prime Minister told his party MPs that the opposition to ordinance would be answered effectively and forcefully and the government was ready to remove all irritants and provisions with a potential for misuse from the ordinance.

Briefing newspersons about the Parliamentary Party meeting, BJP spokesman V.K. Malhotra said the government was in touch with various political parties to arrive at some consensus on the POTO and the date for the next all-party meeting would be decided after a discussion on the issue at the Home Ministry Consultative Committee meeting on November 23.

Death for carrying RDX
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 20
Even as controversy is mounting over the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO), the Centre today made possession of lethal explosives like RDX, PETN, HMX punishable by death, with the Rajya Sabha passing by voice vote the Explosive Amendment Bill, 1999.

Piloting the Bill, Minister of State for Home Vidyasagar Rao said though RDX, PETN and HMX had been found to be used extensively by militants in Jammu and Kashmir, North-East and Naxal-infested areas, other high grade, though little known, explosives were being banned to make their use unlawful by imposing stringent penalty.

The Bill categorises high explosives like research development explosive (RDX), penta erythritol tetra nitrate (PETN), high melting explosive (HMX), tri nitrate toluene (TNT), low temperature plastic explosives (LTPE) as special grade explosives, possession of which has been made punishable by death or life imprisonment.

Also brought under the purview of the stringent law, for the first time, are other explosives like composition exploding (CE), plastic explosive kirkee-1 (PEK), OCTOL, a mixture of high melting explosive, and TNT and compounds of RDX and TNT.

To strong concerns voiced by members on misuse of anthrax spores, the minister said though it was not an explosive, the government was prepared to consider bringing forth a law to ban it in the wake of its recent widespread misuse in the USA by suspected terrorists.