UAPA bill: Rajya Sabha passes anti-terror amendment bill; 147 votes in favour, 42 against
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment (UAPA) or the anti-terror bill has received a green signal in the Rajya Sabha today. The bill was passed in Parliament days after the contentious between the government and opposition parties.
Out of the total Rajya Sabha members, 147 MPs voted in favor while 42 voted against the anti-terror bill.
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act(UAPA) amendment, 2019 passed in Rajya Sabha pic.twitter.com/jfttTZvdmE
— ANI (@ANI) August 2, 2019
Home Minister Amit Shah said before the voting on the bill began that terrorism has no religion and terrorists are against humanity. He also added, “all should support stringent laws against it.”
Earlier on July 24, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill was already passed by Lok Sabha.
One of the arguments among the amendments is that the government will have now have the power to declare any individual as a terrorist.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah responded to the concern raised by the oppositions before the bill passed that the sole purpose to pass the UAPA is to fight against terror, no other motive.
"This (UAPA) Act is to fight terror and has no other purpose," he said. He further added that it is vital to identify miscreants individually whose hands are involved in spreading terrorism and not just terror organizations.
“Terrorism is not just India's problem. Why are we scared of naming terrorists?" Shah said.
He also replied to the point raised by Congress senior leader P Chidambaram and said, “Chidambaram ji asked why to name an individual as a terrorist when the organisation they are affiliated to is already banned.
It is because we ban one organisation, another one comes up by the same individuals. Till when will we keep banning organisations?”
During a speech in Rajaya Sabha, Shah also accused the Congress of linking terrorism to religion.
Shah also urged the oppositions not to do politics over this bill as it is crucial and it should be implemented in the view of national security. Home Minister also assured the Upper House that UAPA bill will not weaken the powers of state police departments. He added that NIA would notify the state police in such cases.
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First published: 2 August 2019, 14:40 IST