BHOPAL: The former Bharatiya Janata Party president, Venkaiah Naidu, said here on Wednesday that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre was pursuing vote bank politics and adopting a soft line on the internal security front.

Addressing a press conference at the State BJP headquarters here, he said Pakistan should be told in clear terms that there was no possibility of talks between the two countries as long as it continued to support terrorism in this country.

Mr. Naidu said Congress president Sonia Gandhi appeared concerned about the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh but preferred to remain silent on Assam. She neither visited Assam nor took a stand on the fate of the Tarun Gogoi Government after dozens of people were killed in terror attacks in that State in the last few days, he said.

Mr. Naidu said that due to the UPA Government's soft-line on the issue of terrorism, the people were suffering. Those who were receiving support from outside and believe in the cult of violence were striking their targets at will. There has been a rise in terrorist incidents. After the attack on Ayodhya and the Kashi Vishwanath temple, Delhi has been hit.

The BJP leader said that the Congress party is silent on the issue of large-scale influx of Bangladeshis in the North-east as well as Pak infiltration.

The issue of infiltration is unnecessarily being linked to a particular religion, he said and went on to ask why Afzal Guru was being protected after he has been convicted and ordered to be hanged to death by the Supreme Court in the case linked with the December 2001 terrorist attack on Parliament.

This is giving a

wrong message to the people, he said adding that the controversy over the singing of Vande Matram and the setting up of the Sachchar Committee, which was formed to look into the living conditions of Muslims in this country, was only intended to build a vote bank, Mr. Naidu said Asked whether he would support Bharatiya Jan Shakti president Uma Bharti's return to the BJP, Mr. Naidu said he would not comment on someone who is not in the party.

Giving a pat to the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, who was seated beside him, the BJP leader said the Madhya Pradesh Government under his leadership was performing well and to the satisfaction of the central leadership of the party.

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