NDA partners agree on Pota amendment

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has persuaded the defiant southern allies"" DMK , PMK and MDMK""to fall in line with the government's move to amend the Prevention of Terrorist Act (Pota).

The amendment, to be introduced tomorrow, will also coincide with the hearing by the Supreme Court on constitutional validity of the law.

A Division Bench of the Supreme Court will take up the public interest litigation filed MDMK chief Vaiko against the misuse of Pota.

Significantly, the government is set to introduce the amendment by which the recommendations of the review committees, at the central and the state levels, will be binding on the government.

Earlier, these recommendations were only advisory in nature and the state governments were free to use the law in an indiscriminate manner.

What appears to have alarmed the governments is the manner in which the DMK, PMK and MDMK joined hands to protest against Pota and demanded its repeal instead of amending the Act.

DMK members of the House, at a demonstration opposed the move to bring in the amendment and said they would accept nothing short of the repeal of the law.

The Tamil Nadu allies' belligerence was set to cause a major political embarrassment for the government, which had called a joint session of Parliament to enact the law against terrorism.

Sources in the government said all senior leaders in the government spoke to DMK chief M Karunanidhi and convinced him about the amendment, which would restrain the state from indiscriminate use of the law.

After the NDA meeting, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said all allies agreed to vote for the amendment.

In all probability, Vaiko, languishing in jail under Pota charges, would also attend the House and vote on the amendment.

That the BJP leadership was quite unnerved about the DMK's resistance to the Pota was apparent when BJP spokesman VK Malhotra said if the Pota remained unamended, it would go against those considered to be "victims".

The NDA meeting called at the Prime Minister's residence this evening turned out to be an exercise to cement ties among all allies as top leaders in the government assured them that their interests would be protected under this political coalition.

In the meeting, the allies were also briefed about the government's move to bring a legislation banning political defections and limiting the size of the ministries.

Meanwhile, as part of their party's Tamil Nadu wide agitation, DMK members of Parliament today demonstrated outside the Parliament House demanding repeal of Pota.

The MPs gathered at gate No. 1 of the Parliament House just before the House met for the day and raised slogans against Pota and demanded its repeal.

They also demanded that the Tamil language should be included in the Eighth Schedule and resolution of the Cauvery water issue.

The picketing by DMK activists in Tamil Nadu also figured in the Lok Sabha where C Kuppusamy (MP) said the party had resorted to this action after exhausting all avenues to seek redressal on issues like misuse of Pota by the J Jayalalithaa government.