GUNTUR: Guntur MP Galla Jayadev has said that posts of chairperson and members of the AP State Human Rights Commission are lying vacant. Speaking in the Lok Sabha during a debate on the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2019, on Thursday, the TDP MP added that there was not even an administrative officer in the commission in AP. The Bill on NHRC constitution was passed by the Lok Sabha on Friday.
“Appointing chairpersons of State Human Rights Commissions is tricky because of the 1993 Act, according to which only Chief Justices of High Court can be considered for the post. According to the new Bill, a high court judge can be appointed the SHRC chairperson. So, its a welcome move from the Union government,” he asserted.
“The situation in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Manipur, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Maharashtra is not different. The new Bill will pave way for functioning of full-fledged SHRCs in all the States very soon,” the MP said.
“Human rights violations are continuing across the country unabated. Arbitrary killings, forced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture in police custody, lack of criminal investigations rape, domestic violence, dowry-related deaths and honour killings are being reported from across the country,” he pointed out.
According to a report in 2018 on human rights practices, the State Department of the United States said that the Government of India was imposing restrictions on citizens. The issue of human rights plays an important role in foreign investors coming to India. So, in a way, human rights violations also impact India’s growth trajectory, he argued.