Extortion motive in bandh calls: Byaling

FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT

Itagar, March 6: Aruchal Pradesh Home Minister Tanga Byaling yesterday expressed concern over mushrooming of unions and organizations throughout the state saying that they (unions) are resorting to extortion through bandh calls. Responding to a question by Congress member Pani Taram during question hour on the iugural day of the six-day budget session of the legislative assembly here, Byaling said that police department had taken adequate steps to contain the mece of bandh culture.

“No one has the right to curtail the liberty of the people through bandh calls,” he said adding, issues could be settled through negotiation and bandh enforcers should adopt other means of protest including dhar instead of bandh which badly affect the common people and the business class.

To a supplementary on why not actions were initiated by the government on unions and organizations resorting to extortion, the Home Minister said that police failed to initiate action for want of written complaints.

Stating that as per available record, there are 5, 328 registered societies under tax &excise and Registrar of Societies besides 29 others under labour commissioner and registrar of trade unions in the state, Byaling informed that many organizations in the state were not registered and made absurd demands which were not possible to fulfill, resulting in bandh calls.

He said, there was no specific policy in respect to the un-registered unions and any unlawful activity was dealt with relevant sections of the CrPC and IPC.

“In order to curb the mece of extortion, the state government has made functiol an anti-extortion cell at the police head quarter with SP, Special Investigating Team (SIT) as the supervising authority.

BJP member Japu Deru in a supplementary while appreciating the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 2014 ected by the state government last year said that it should strictly implemented instead of making it a decorative item to deal with such activities.

Responding to Deru, Byaling informed that cases have been registered under the Act which prompted Speaker bam Rebia to give ruling that ‘law is taking its own course of action.