PM MODI ASSURES TO REMOVE AFSPA FROM ENTIRE NORTHEAST

Guwahati (The Quiver) : On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “the Centre is making efforts to remove the entire northeast from the ambit of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), which provides sweeping powers and immunity from criminal prosecution.

“For long , many states in the northeast were under the ambit of AFSPA. But in the past eight years, due to permanent peace and improved law and order situation, we removed the provisions of the Act from several parts of the region,” Modi further added at a public meeting, at Loringthepi in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district.

The killings of 14 civilians in a botched army operation in Nagaland’s Mon district in December put the spotlight back on AFSPA and demanded for its repeal. The Centre in March reduced the disturbed areas under the ambit of the law in the region.

Modi stated due 75% drop in violent incidents in the northeast over the past eight years, AFSPA were removed in Meghalaya and Tripura .

“In Assam, it has been in force for over three decades now. Due to a lack of improvement in the situation, earlier governments used to extend its enforcement repeatedly. But in recent years, due to improved ground situation, AFSPA has been removed from 23 districts of Assam,” Modi mentioned.

“We are trying to bring the situation to normal in other parts of the state so that AFSPA can be removed from there too. Similar efforts are also underway in Nagaland and Manipur [parts of both states are under AFSPA] to remove the Act,”assured Modi.

WHEN AFSPA WAS IMPOSED IN INDIA?

The British enacted the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Ordinance in August 1942 to enlist the armed forces “in the aid of civil power” to put down the Indian independence movement during the Second World War. AFSPA is modelled on this colonial-era ordinance and was promulgated in Parliament in September 1958. The law allows armed forces to control and maintain public order in areas designated as “disturbed”.