CHIEF MINISTERS CONFERENCE-Suppressing the Symptoms

CHIEF MINISTERS' CONFERENCE Suppressing the Symptoms THE most ominous outcome of the two-day Chief Ministers' conference, which discussed almost exclusively the worsened law and order situation, might be the accretion to the states of special powers of detention. In the face of strong opposition (including from within the ruling party) the Centre was obliged to let the MISA laps and abandon the amendment it had proposed to the Criminal Procedure Code to make preventive detention a permanent part of law. However the Constitutional provision to enable enactment preventive detention laws gives the C are the opening to vest special powers in the states. The demand from almost all the Chief Ministers for such powers provides the alibi. The Union Home Ministry is considering such a proposal.