Anti-Communal Violence Bill not a vote catching gimmick: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday asserted that the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill is not a vote catching gimmick and will help control aberrations that occur during such outbreaks.

Answering questions after delivering the keynote address at the 11th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi, Dr. Singh said: "It is not a vote catching gimmick. I think in the last five or six years, we have been grappling with the problem of communal riots in some or other part of the country and, our effort has been to create an environment where officials who have the responsibility to look at the law and order situation work as effectively as is humanly possible."

"Also, if riots cannot be prevented, then there should be adequate compensation for the victims of the riots. So these are the two big principles which underline what is the purpose of the Prevention of Communal Violence Bill," he added.

He further said: "I think it is a Bill whose time has come. What happened in Muzaffarnagar and in some other parts of the country is a reminder that although as a country we take pride in our ability to protect all the people of the country, yet there are times when I think aberrations take place."

"This Bill, if it is passed by the Parliament, will help to control these aberrations," he added.