Source: The Sangai Express / Agencies
New Delhi, September 18:
With fears over the political cost of terror attacks rising, the Congress leadership is taking a hard look at the possibility of shifting Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and bringing in a softer version of POTA.
The proposed anti-terror law is expected to contain several safeguards, like a shorter period of detention than POTA, while the provision for making confessions admissible in a Court of law is being debated.
There is a possibility that the Government may introduce it through an ordinance.
Patil, who has so far survived the clamour for his removal in the wake of several terror attacks, looks to be in the danger zone as Congress leadership needs to be seen to be taking "strong" measures to fend off the soft-on-terror charge hurled at it by the Opposition.
It is being felt that halfway measures will simply not do; sources dismissed speculation about creating the post of a minister of State in charge of internal security.
The matter came up for discussion during the meeting between Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh on Wednesday.
That Patil, who scores very highly on the loyalty quotient with 10 Janpath, now faces an uncertain future as Home Minister is seen to be indicative of the growing concern within the party about the widespread criticism that the Minister has faced.
The worry became obvious when the PM, in a major shift in position, signalled that special antiterror laws could be considered by declaring that he had no "fixed, inflexible or ideological view" against such legislation.
Even as he regretted that the terrorism debate has been "driven" by politics and had come to be centred on "certain laws enacted or repealed by Governments of different political persuasions", he said that legislation to strengthen anti-terror law was being considered.