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Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders are targeting Law and Justice Arun Jaitley for being adamant on certain issues regarding the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinace, leading to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee having to call an all-party meet to discuss amendments suggested by opposition parties.
"For instance, Jaitley is unwilling to delete the provisions relating to the media in POTO. Prime Minister Vajpayee was against them but Jaitley argued that since those very provisions also existed under Section 39 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) for years."
"Since the laws had not been misused under the CPC, he debunked any possibility of them being misused under POTO," a senior Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament told rediff.com on Tuesday.
He also said that there was anger within party circles against the manner in which the Jammu and Kashmir police sealed the house of a citizen accused of harbouring terrorists.
"They locked the house and left the hapless family members, including children, on the streets, that too, in winter," he pointed out.
"We agree that POTO is useful, but there should be some safeguards," he said.
When contacted, Arun Jaitley denied there was any provision under POTO which went against the media.
He refused to comment on the criticism within his party to his role in the POTO episode saying, "Let us talk on this aspect after the all party meeting called by the prime minister (on Tuesday) to discuss amendments to POTO."
Meanwhile, the Delhi Union of Journalists had planned a protest march against the POTO in New Delhi on Tuesday.
POTO: Complete Coverage
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