Mayavati

New Delhi, Sept. 4: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayavati today dumped in the “dustbin” a tough law on organised crime after blasting the Centre for sitting on it and the Congress for its double standards.

The Bahujan Samaj Party leader, who counts the minorities among her supporters, also made sure she wouldn’t be clubbed with the BJP, which yesterday took a tough stand on cracking down on terror and organised crime.

“We have dumped the UPCOCA bill in raddi ki tokri (dustbin) with immediate effect,” Mayavati told reporters in Lucknow, showing annoyance at the Centre for not clearing the law passed by the state legislature on February 13.

Several other states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra are waiting for the President’s nod for similar laws they have passed after the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, whose critics said it was targeted mainly at minorities.

Mayavati’s move came days after Union minister of state for home Sriprakash Jaiswal said the Centre would turn down the heartland government’s request to pass the Uttar Pradesh Control of Organised Crime Act bill, which had been waiting for presidential assent.

One of the provisions in the law was an accused could be convicted even if he or she was not present in court.

Mayavati accused the Congress of double standards, saying the Uttar Pradesh act had been prepared on the lines of a similar law in Congress-ruled Maharashtra, but the party had not done away with the “MCOCA” in the western state.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court upheld certain controversial sections of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act that allowed state police to tap oral or electronic communication.

The timing of Mayavati’s announcement is also significant because it came just a day after Gujarat’s BJP chief minister Narendra Modi along with former party chief L.K. Advani came down heavily on the Congress for not passing a strong law to curb terror.

The Gujarat Control of Organised Crime act, recently passed by the state legislature for the second time, is also waiting for the President’s approval.