Chaos will reign if there is a plane hijack or a terrorist attack in Andhra Pradesh, thanks to the Government Order (GO) issued by the state withdrawing ‘general consent’ to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), observed Delhi-based lawyer and legal columnist, K.V. Dhananjay. The Andhra Pradesh government led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu issued a confidential GO on November 8 barring the central agency from conducting raids or carrying out investigations in the state without its permission.
The CBI does not just investigate economic offences, it is also the police force of the central government. Naidu has blocked the central government from enforcing numerous laws by blocking the CBI from discharging its duty under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, said Dhananjay, who studied the implications of the GO on law and order in the state.
“I was shell-shocked after going through the notification. The AP government’s notification disables central government’s police power to investigate and prosecute 63 different central statutes in the territory of Andhra Pradesh. It includes Prevention of Money Laundering Act and Income Tax Act, which are well known. But, the notification also includes Anti-hijacking Act which is extremely serious. It also includes Unlawful Activities Prevention Act which is meant to keep out terrorist groups,” he said.
According to Dhananjay, in case there is a terrorist attack or a plane hijack within the territory of Andhra Pradesh, the CBI cannot spring into action in their role as central police with their own accord.
“They (CBI) have to wait till Naidu gives permission. If the state government wants, they can even protect the terrorists. It just means that with this order, Naidu can indulge in whatever illegalities he and his coterie want and still escape the law. I do not want to politicise this issue but I am not sure if even the central government is aware of the extreme danger from this order,” he said.
He said that all those state governments who are withdrawing the ‘general consent’ orders of CBI are acting like “enemies of the country”.
“The country cannot run like this even for a day and the central government should take this order to the court immediately”, he said.
