Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Demanding adequate compensations and the government to come clear on AFSPA, a delegation of 20 MPs of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday here. The TMC delegation of MPs also discussed the recent shooting of 14 civilians in Nagaland.
According to a party statement, the delegation also demanded from the government of India to come clear on the ambiguity enveloping the AFSPA and ensure to the nation that no innocent civilians are again killed.
Our Hon’ble MPs submitted a memorandum to the @HMOIndia today.We demand compensation for the kin of victims.GOI must clear the ambiguity surrounding AFSPA. They must ENSURE that NO INNOCENT CIVILIANS are killed.The law is to PROTECT civilians, NOT KILL them! pic.twitter.com/ojcazr094x
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) December 8, 2021
“The AFSPA has been brought to protect civilians; not to kill them. The recent killing of 14 civilians in Nagaland by armed forces was nothing but a brutal, cold-blooded murder of innocent civilians in village Oating in Mon district of Nagaland on December 4 and 5th,” the delegation stated through the memorandum, addressed to the Home Minister.
The TMC MPs delegation also collective expressed their dismay as how the Home Minister in his statement given in the parliament on December 6 over the killings did not utter a word about the compensation to be given to the deceased’s families.
“The statement of Home minister also failed to express any alarm or concern at the blatant misuse of the Armed Forces Special Powers ACT (AFSPA), which is in effect in Assam, Nagaland Manipur, parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Kashmir and certain other areas,” the delegation has mentioned in the memorandum, adding that civilians loosing their lives in any country is a shame for the government.
Quoting observation of the Hedge Commission of 2013, the delegation of TMC MPs further stated that the commission had stated that the AFSPA was an impediment to achieving peace in regions such as Jammu& Kashmir and the Northeast.
“The commission had suggested fixing a time frame of three months for the central government to decide whether to prosecute security personnel engaged in extrajudicial killings or unruly behaviour in insurgency-hit regions,” stated the delegation to Union Home Minister.
The delegation also requested not to cover ups or make any effort to save face in connection with Oting village killing incident that reflects the horrendous possibilities of AFSPA being misused. The delegation also expressed its protest on the enhancement of jurisdiction of BSF.
Prominent MPs in the delegation were Sudipto Bandyopadhaya, Sushmita Dev, Derek O’Brien, Kalyan Banerjee, Sukhndu Sekhar Ray, Abhishek Banerjee (national generals secretary of TMC) and others.
