Congress president Sonia Gandhi said the Centre is capable of tackling terrorism and suggested that there should be no "narrow politics" over such a sensitive issue.
DADRI (UP): In the backdrop of Opposition attack over Government's handling of internal security, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said the Centre is capable of tackling terrorism and suggested that there should be no "narrow politics" over such a sensitive issue.
"We are very alert to threats to internal security," Gandhi said addressing a rally here, a day after bomb blasts in Maharashtra and Gujarat which were in continuation to several such terror attacks across the country recently.
Asserting that the government is "capable of dealing with any kind of terrorism", she said "India has never bowed to terrorism and will never do so."
With apparently the opposition attack on the government in her mind, the UPA Chairperson suggested that there should be no politics over the issue of terrorism.
"Terrorism has to be kept above politics. We don't indulge in narrow politics on such sensitive issues," she said.
Opposition BJP has been targeting the government, particularly Home Minister Shivraj Patil, over handling of internal security in the wake of frequent bomb blasts across the country.
During the last two months, there have been serial bomb blasts in Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Delhi.
In the context of Centre-State relations, Gandhi said partisan politics should cease once a party forms a government.
She said it was normal for parties to seek support of people during elections. "But once a government is formed, whether at the Centre or in states, it should keep the people's interests in mind," she said.
Stating that the Congress party has always followed this principle, she said, "Whenever we came to power, we never discriminated against anybody. Funds given by the Centre to the states belongs to the people of the state and to each individual."
Taking a dig at the Mayawati-led Uttar Pradesh government, Gandhi alleged that funds worth crores of rupees given by the Centre were not reaching the people of the state due to corruption.
She exhorted the people, especially the Congress workers, to raise their voice against corruption and share the grievances and pain of the common people.
On the controversies in some parts of the country over land acquisitions for industrial development, Gandhi said the Congress is not against it for growth of industries, but the farmers should get proper compensation and also a partnership
in the projects.
The UPA Chairperson said the government has prepared a Bill for land acquisition. "We hope to pass it in Parliament soon," Gandhi said.
Gandhi did not name any specific project while talking about the land acquisition issue but was apparently referring to Singur and Dadri, where such developments have got mired in controversies.
Some Congress leaders recently courted arrest here to protest against inadequate compensation to farmers in lieu of their land for a power project.
Highlighting the achievements of the Manmohan Singh government, she lauded its efforts in clinching the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.
Gandhi said the deal would benefit the farmers by generating employment and ensuring adequate power supply.
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