National

BJP call to avenge terror attacks

Photo: Mohamed Nazeer

Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh with NSG commandos on the second day of his visit to Kannur on Thursday. Tight security arrangements were in place in the town in connection with the visit. —

KANNUR: Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh on Thursday called upon the Union government to take measures against Pakistan to avenge the Mumbai terror attacks.

“The government should consider taking some measures against Pakistan. Enough is enough. There is need to avenge the repeated assaults on our people and democracy,” he said at a “Meet the Press” here.

The terror attacks were declaration of an open war by terrorists and their perpetrators against the country. The BJP would support every honest initiative of the Union government to fight terror.

The entire country was disappointed by the attitude of the Pakistan government with regard to taking specific steps to curb the terror mechanism, known criminals and so-called “non-state” operatives working against India. Pakistan was in a denial mode despite proofs, Mr. Singh said.

“If the sovereign government of Pakistan does not have full control over the activities taking place on the very soil of Pakistan, then should not the international community consider the implications of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and facilities falling into the hands of ‘non-state players’? Should such a country be allowed to possess nuclear arms?”

Urging the government to convene an all-party meeting before taking hard decisions, Mr. Singh said the prevailing sense of insecurity throughout the country in the wake of the attacks had made the people extremely restive and impatient for results.

Over the last few months, there had been numerous audacious attacks, including serial bomb blasts in different cities, and the government had been soft in dealing with terror.

Terming the resignation of Ministers and other officials an eyewash and internal matter of the government, Mr. Singh said the real action would lie in the government formulating a comprehensive action plan that should include tough anti-terror legislation, fast track courts for speedy justice in terrorist attack cases, strengthening of the intelligence agencies, improving the coordination between various law enforcement agencies and initiating diplomatic steps to take the international community into confidence.

He said every State government should take the initiative to strengthen national security.

He called upon the Kerala government to take specific measures to ensure that a Mumbai-like incident was not repeated in the State, which has a long and porous coastal stretch for almost 700 km.

The reports of the killing of four youth from Kerala by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir were also worrisome.

This was the first time that youth from Kerala were linked to banned anti-national outfits such as the Students Islamic Movement of India, he added.

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