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Centre playing with nation's security, says Jaswant Singh

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: The United Progress Alliance government appears to have allowed Pakistan to `incorporate' cross-border terrorism as a `pre-negotiating tactic,' former External Affairs Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh told presspersons here on Sunday.

He said all actions and statements of the Centre indicated that, "we have reached a disturbing phase of absence of an agenda to tackle terrorism."

Mr. Singh said the Centre was playing with the security of the nation and its handling of Tuesday's serial blasts in Mumbai showed the ruling alliance was far removed from the realities of the nation's vulnerability to terrorist attacks. Its attitude and response to the blasts were "a disservice to the people."

"I am deeply worried at the way India is now addressing issues of terrorism. I am unable to fathom why the Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act was rescinded while in the past few months, from the attack on the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore to the Mumbai blasts, the Prime Minister seems to be merely borrowing statements from the U.S. to make unconvincing, hollow promises," he said.

The present situation regarding internal security was the worst in a decade, he added.

The BJP leadership, which met last week in New Delhi, passed a resolution urging the UPA Government not to "sell India for votes; Govern or get out." The past six weeks had seen attacks and deaths in Jammu and Kashmir every day but the attitude of the Government seemed to have made everyone inured to these deaths, he said.

It was disturbing that the Ministry of External Affairs did not have "one intelligible word" to say about the Mumbai blasts or provide inputs that could help frame a policy on cross-border terrorism. While the National Democratic Alliance Government had effectively dismantled the infrastructure of cross-border terrorism in June 1999 in the conviction that there was no alternative to peace, the Manmohan Singh Government was merely making statements, he said.

The Prime Minister, who was headed for the G-8 summit in St. Petersburg was sure to raise the Pakistan links in the terrorist attacks, but that would only show India in poor light. The NDA Government had determinedly avoided including its negotiations with Pakistan to become a talking point with the U.S. since it exposed India's apprehensions about solving the issue, Mr. Singh said.

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