After writing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressing his reservation on the Communal Violence Bill, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has written to his counterparts in other states to cobble up a broad consensus against the legislation.
Modi urged other state Chief Ministers to keep aside their political affiliations and oppose the Bill, “which is nothing but a blatant attempt by the Centre to interfere with and intrude upon the powers of elected State Governments.”
Modi’s letter came after Chief Ministers like J Jayalalithaa and Mamata Banerjee opposed the Bill saying it was an attack on the federal structure. Though, the UPA Government has tweaked some of the controversial provisions of the Bill and suggested that Centre would only act only on the recommendations of the state, Modi said the Bill would polarise society on religious and linguistic lines.