Communal violence bill: Jaitley accuses centre of polarizing voters on communal lines

The leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa Monday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh voicing her strong opposition to the draft.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had last week accused the central government of "unnecessary interfering in the activities of the state governments" after the government's decision to revive the bill.

Jaitley said in a meeting of the National Integration Council held in 2011 that chief ministers across party lines opposed the bill on the ground that it would be destructive to the federal structure of the constitution.