Communal Violence Bill will not disturb federal structure: Patil

BANGALORE: Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Tuesday said the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control, and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill 2005 will not disturb the federal structure and it provides for adequate compensation to the victims.

Mr. Patil said: "The Bill will strike a balance between the powers of the State and Union governments. Let us not disturb the federal structure."

The Union Minister was addressing a "Southern Region Conference on Communal Violence" to discuss the pros and cons of the Bill and elicit public opinion. The seminar is the second in the series of six such events to be held in the country.

Mr. Patil said there was no law that defined the rights of survivors of communal violence for rescue, relief and rehabilitation. The Bill has made a provision for setting up Communal Disturbance Relief and Rehabilitation Councils at the national, State and district levels for planning relief and rehabilitation measures and their coordination, monitoring and implementation. It has powers to facilitate speedy prosecution of cases relating to communal violence.