New Bill to accord constitutional status for NCM

November 20, 2008: The Indian Express

In the last few months of its term, the UPA Government is pushing through a long-awaited proposal to accord constitutional status to the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) by introducing a new Bill to this effect when Parliament meets next month. A proposal to introduce a Constitutional Amendment Bill is expected to be cleared by the Union Cabinet on Thursday.

Constitutional status for the NCM has been a long-pending demand of the minorities and the Common Minimum Programme of the UPA had also promised to examine the question.

NCM Chairperson Mohamed Shafi Qureshi said constitutional status would empower the Commission to investigate all matters related to minorities and make its decisions binding on the authorities concerned. It will arm the NCM to summon officials up to the rank of Chief Secretary and make it mandatory for states to provide information to the Commission.

“We will be able to function better once we get the Constitutional status. Now, we find it difficult to get information from states and our reports are not implemented. After this, whatever decision we take within our jurisdiction will have to be implemented by the authorities concerned,¶ he said. If passed, the Bill would elevate the NCM from a statutory body to a constitutional one, at par with the National Commissions for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes.

Constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap said the motivation to grant constitutional status to the NCM could be “more political¶ than constitutional or legal. “It could be part of the secular image building. By granting NCM constitutional status, they can claim that they had done something for the minorities,¶ he said.

When that earlier Bill was referred to the Standing Committee, the NCM had made several suggestions including granting of powers to it to inquire, suo motu, or on the basis of a representation by a member of any of the notified minority communities, into complaints of violation of the constitutional safeguards or abetment/negligence in prevention of such violation by a public servant.

HISTORY OF THE BILL

• The National Commission for Minorities (Repeal) Bill, 2004 and the Constitution 103rd Amendment Bill, 2004 were first tabled in Parliament in December 2004
• The Bill, which was referred to the Standing Committee, subsequently lapsed.
• The Government has been working to introduce a fresh Bill ever since