The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Saturday, November 24, 2001, Chandigarh, India

M A I N N E W S

NCERT, CBSE defend deletions

New Delhi, November 23
As yet another controversy has arisen over undermining of secular contents of the curriculum, the NCERT-CBSE combine today justified the deletion of certain portions of history books for various classes in the light of a Congress-majority Delhi Legislative Assembly resolution recommending the deletion of objectionable comments against any religion.

No questions would be set in any examination or tests taken from the said portions henceforth, he said, adding that the schools had been directed to comply with the directions with immediate effect.

However, both Dr Ganguly and the NCERT Chairman defended charges against their attempts at saffronisation of the syllabus. PTI

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

No consensus on POTO
Meeting again on November 26
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 23
The meeting of Home Ministry’s Consultative Committee on the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) remained inconclusive today even as the government indicated that it could consider dropping certain controversial provisions contained in it before presenting it before Parliament.

Consensus on the promulgated ordinance, which is crucial for its smooth passage in Parliament, eluded as the Centre and the Opposition remained at loggerheads with the latter blaming the government for not coming up with any amendment to the proposed law.

However, despite differences on various controversial provisions contained in the proposed anti-terrorism Act, the Opposition agreed to meet again on Monday to deliberate further on the issue.

Voicing strong reservations against the anti-terrorism ordinance, the opposition members were of the view that the Vajpayee government should have consulted political parties before deciding to promulgate the ordinance.

Terming the 90-minute meeting as inconclusive, BJP member Madan Lal Khurana indicated that the government could consider dropping certain controversial provisions from POTO to protect freedom of the Press.

Terming the meeting called by Union Home Minister L. K. Advani to evolve a consensus on POTO as an “eyewash”, CPM leader Somnath Chatterjee told newspersons “the government suggested no amendments”.

Congress MP Avtar Singh Bhadana made the intentions of his party clear when he said his party would stick to its position and oppose POTO in Parliament.

Minister of State for Home I. D. Swami said the Opposition MPs agreed that there should be a law to fight terrorism but emphasised that the government should have held wider consultations before promulgating POTO. “The opposition members wanted more time to suggest specific changes in the proposed law,” he said.

To buttress his viewpoint in favour of POTO, the minister cited the example of the law against organised crime in Maharashtra and said chances of conviction under it was high since intercepts were treated as evidence like under POTO.