September
11,
2003
Press
Release
Following
is
the
text
of
the
letter
addressed
by
CPI(M)
General
Secretary,
Harkishan
Singh
Surjeet
to
the
Secretary
to
the
Review
Committee
on
POTA.
__________________________________________________________________
September
10,
2003
Sir,
The
Communist
Party
of
India
(Marxist)
is
opposed
to
the
Prevention
of
Terrorism
Act,
2002
as
its
provisions
can
be
used
against
the
democratic
rights
of
the
people
and
organisations.
Many
of
its
provisions
are
against
the
fundamental
rights
guaranteed
in
the
Constitution
of
India.
The
experience
of
the
implementation
of
the
present
Act
in
many
states
shows
that
the
Act
was
used
for
political
vendetta
and
to
suppress
the
democratic
rights
and
genuine
people's
movements.
There
is
no
need
for
this
extraordinary
piece
of
legislation.
The
existing
laws
in
this
country
are
sufficient
to
tackle
all
situations.
The
Communist
Party
of
India
(Marxist)
suggests
that
the
Review
Committee
should
recommend
to
the
government
for
repeal
of
Prevention
of
Terrorism
Act,
2002
altogether.