NEW DELHI: The home ministry on Tuesday said the term ‘anti-national’ is not defined in any statute but there exist criminal legislations and judicial pronouncements to deal with unlawful and subversive activities that are detrimental to the unity and integrity of the country.
Answering a query by AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, as to whether the government has defined ‘anti-national’ under any legislation or rules or any other legal enactment enforced in the country, MoS (home) Nityanand Rai conceded that the term was indeed not defined by the statute. He did point out that the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976, had inserted Article 31D during the Emergency, which defined “anti-national activity”. However, Article 31D was omitted by the Constitution (43rd Amendment) Act, 1977, added the MoS.
To a query on the number of people arrested for indulging in “anti-national” activities, Rai said ‘public order’ and ‘police’ are state subjects as per 7th Schedule of the Constitution.