Chidambaram hits out at Indian Army for opposing amendments to AFSPA

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday lashed out against Indian Army for its reluctance to make amendments to controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. He also questioned the Army on why it was opposed to diluting the Act.

"If they will take such a strong stand against any dilution to any amendment of AFSPA, it will be impossible for a civilian government to move forward. Why are they so against dilution of the Act which might make it more humanitarian?" Chidambaram said.

The act allows an officer of the armed forces to use measures such as make unwarranted arrests or search any premises to make arrests. The extreme clauses in the law, which has been implemented in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and was later extended to Jammu and Kashmir, have led to misuse of the powers given to the para-military forces, with civil rights activists launching widespread protests demanding its rollback.

'Why are they so against dilution of the Act which might make it more humanitarian?' the Finance Minister asked.

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