Indian Parliament OKs Anti-Terrorism Bill in Joint Session

Lawmakers in India approved an anti-terrorism bill Tuesday after a day of heated debate in a highly unusual joint session of Parliament, only the third since the country’s independence.

The government said the legislation is crucial after the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States and a Dec. 13 attack on the Indian Parliament.

“We cannot score a decisive victory against terrorism unless a special law of this kind is enacted,” Home Affairs Minister Lal Krishna Advani said as he presented the bill.

Opponents denounced the bill as a draconian curtailment of civil rights and voiced fears that the Hindu nationalist-led government would use the law selectively against Muslims and political rivals.

The Prevention of Terrorism bill would allow police to detain suspects for questioning for three months without bringing charges against them and for an additional three months with approval from a special court. It also would allow anyone suspected of giving money, shelter, transportation or other support to terrorists to be tried on terrorism charges.

The bill also provides for punishments ranging from a minimum of five years in prison to death.

The government says the law will be effective against Islamic separatists in Jammu and Kashmir, India’s only Muslim majority state. India blames the militants for the attack on Parliament and says they were aided by neighboring Pakistan.

The bill was rejected last week by the upper house, which is dominated by the opposition Congress Party. To break the deadlock, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee called the joint session.

After nine hours of debate, the bill passed 425-296, with some lawmakers absent or abstaining. The figurehead president, Kocheril Raman Narayanan, was expected to sign the legislation within a week.

Sonia Gandhi, leader of the Congress Party, said the law violates individual rights.

“This government has revealed its true intentions by using every device to arm itself with . . . menacing powers,” she said.