Parliament on Friday passed the amendments to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act empowering the central government to name individuals as terrorists even as Opposition raised concerns about the possible misuse of the provisions.

After the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment was passed by Lok Sabha earlier, the Rajya Sabha too passed it. It will become an Act after the President gives his assent.

The main purpose of the bill is to provide special procedures to deal with terrorist activities.

“We have always said that we must have the strictest laws to deal with terror. There is a need to designate as terrorists individuals who participate in terror activities, radicalise youth and lure them into such activities, help terrorists and provide funds to terrorists. Such a provision is there in the US, China, Israel, European countries and even in Pakistan,” the home minister said.

The bill drew lots of criticism by Opposition who walked out of the Lok Sabha as a protest against the bill.

Let us know more about the bill.

What is UAPA?

UAPA is a law that prevents unlawful activities that may cause harm to the integrity and sovereignty of the government.



What are the changes proposed?

Amit Shah proposed the following changes to the bill: