Mah to issue ordinance on anti-superstition bill

PTI, MUMBAI | 21 August 2013 21:41 IST

Dr Narendra Dabholkar

Taking cognisance of the massive outpouring of public grief and anger over Narendra Dabholkar's killing, Maharashtra government today decided to promulgate an ordinance for enacting a bill against black magic, blind faith and superstition, for which the activist waged a long battle.

The decision to approach Governor K Sankaranarayanan for promulgating the ordinance was taken at a meeting of the state Cabinet here, Mantralaya sources said. The ordinance is expected to be issued in a day or two, they said.

The draft legislation is ready and will be converted into the ordinance, they said, adding that the bill would be passed in the next session of state Legislature.

At the meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, senior NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal is understood to have raised the issue that the ordinance be promulgated, ahead of the passage of the bill in the state Legislature.

Welcoming the move, Shyam Manav of the Akhil Bharatiya Andhashradhha Nirmoolan Samiti said, the government has paid tribute to Dabholkar by deciding to issue the ordinance.
Dabholkar, who was running an anti-superstition movement in Maharashtra and had even drafted a Bill for the purpose in the late 1990s, was shot dead in Pune yesterday.
 
Dabholkar hailed from Chavan's home district Satara.
The contentious legislation is aimed at banning superstitions, inhuman rituals and black magic that have been used to exploit people in the name of religious beliefs.
The ordinance will be promulgated by the state government and it would also hold talks with representatives of the Warkari sect which has raised some objections to the proposed law.

At the meeting, some ministers were understood to have questioned the delay in passing the legislation.

The ordinance is being issued since the state Legislature session will now be held only in December. Dabholkar had attended every session of the state Legislature since 2003, when the bill was first tabled in the Assembly, to lobby for its passage with the state government as well as the Opposition.

The bill has had a controversial history and went through several drafts and 29 amendments in the last decade, the most recent changes being made earlier this year. Dabholkar and his legislation also faced fierce opposition from right-wing groups, who said it targeted Hinduism.

Organisations like the Hindu Jan Jagruti Samiti and Sanatan Sanstha denounced the bill as anti-Hindu, while some in the Warkari sect termed it an attempt to defame the Hindu religion.

There was little movement - or concerted effort - for the passage of the legislation during tenure of late Vilasrao Deshmukh and Ashok Chavan as chief minister, an activist said.

He pointed out that Deshmukh was an ardent devotee of godman Satya Sai Baba.  

There were allegations that the Opposition parties and the state's ruling alliance had colluded in stalling the passage of the bill, fearing a backlash from the majority community.


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