New Delhi, May 23
The Congress on Saturday urged President Pranab Mukherjee not to give his assent to the controversial anti-terror law passed by the Gujarat assembly.

A delegation of senior Congress leaders from Gujarat called on Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan and urged him not to give his assent to the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime Bill, 2015, which was passed by the state assembly on March 31.

The Congress leaders in the delegation included Ahmed Patel, Gujarat Congress chief Bharatsinh Solanki and senior leader Shankersinh Vaghela.

It submitted a memorandum to the president on the controversial bill with party spokesman Shaktisinh Gohil alleging that the BJP was playing politics over it.

The bill passed by the Gujarat assembly on March 31 is a reworked version of the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Bill (GUJCOC), 2003, which was earlier rejected twice by the then presidents due to some of its contentious provisions.

The bill was passed amid strong opposition from Congress members, who staged a walk out.

The bill was first introduced as the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Bill (GUJCOC) in 2003 by the then chief minister Narendra Modi.

The Anandiben Patel government has been pitching for the law contending that the present acts have limitations in dealing with organised crime and terror activities.

Don\'t clear Gujarat anti-terror bill: Congress urges president