Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM on the Prevention of Communal Violence Bill

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan was answering a question on the Prevention of Communal Violence Bill at the HT Leadership Summit.

"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.  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."