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At an all-party meeting at Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's residence, several opposition parties on Tuesday strongly opposed the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance promulgated by President K R Narayanan
Later, speaking to Aaj Tak, Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav said POTO was the most dangerous law to ever be promulgated in India -- more draconian than any other previous law like the Maintenance of Internal Security Act or Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act.
He said that when the British could rule India with the help of just the Indian Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code, sending freedom fighters to the gallows on charges of anti-national activity, there was no need for such a draconian law as POTO.
He charged that such a law was necessary only for a government that had failed to implement the rule of law and which was unsure of itself.
Yadav said it would ultimately be used more to keep the government in power and suppress opposition than to fight terrorism.
Agencies
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