Stop 'running' to US for tackling terror, BJP tells Govt

NEW DELHI: Pledging support for a full-scale war against terror, Opposition BJP said on Thursday that the Government must stop "running" to Washington hoping that the US would come to its rescue in tackling Pakistan-backed terrorism.
    
"Please stop running to mummy (US)" hoping that somebody else will help the country to tackle terrorism, senior BJP leader Arun Shourie said initiating a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the recent terror attacks in Mumbai.
    
He said the government keeps pinning its hopes on US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice coming here to resolve the country's problems with regard to terrorism.
    
Asking the government to stop the peace process with Pakistan, he said "your intelligence record shows that ISI is now knitting together Indian insurgent groups".
    
Observing that China was propping up Pakistan, Shourie said Islamabad was supporting terrorism and at the same time putting the onus of the peace process on New Delhi.
    
Advising the government to come out of the "self-denial" mode, he said four days before the Mumbai terror strikes, former Home Minister Shivraj Patil was taking consolation in the figures showing comparison of terrorist attacks during the NDA and the UPA governments.
    
Referring to coastal security, he said barring one, none of the remaining 35 islands in Lakshadsweep was properly staffed by intelligence agencies.
    
Noting that the country remained vulnerable because terrorist groups backed by the neighbouring country use high technology like voice over internet protocol, he warned that in the next five years the terrorists would use non-conventional weapons like chemical and nuclear arms in miniature forms.
    
Shourie said the 'proxy war' started by former Pakistan President Ziaul Haq has kept India "bleeding" for 35 years with no damage to them.
    
Advising the government to judge Pakistan by the ground realities, he said "please do not go by joint statements that you sign with their leaders".
    
Rejecting the theory of using minimal force, Shourie said the government should go with full force to win over the proxy war unleashed by Pakistan.
    
"Not an eye for an eye. But for an eye, both eyes. For a tooth, whole jaw," he said.
    
He observed that violence in Jammu and Kashmir had come down in the last one year because Pakistan was preoccupied with its own problems in troubled areas like Balochistan, the tribal belt and other places.
    
He asked the government to empower the proposed Federal Investigation Agency with adequate teeth.
    
Asking the government not to make it a prestige issue, he said if the UPA was "allergic" to POTA, it should bring changes in the National Security Act so that tough actions can be taken against terrorists.
    
Shourie said the entire country would support the government if it took effective and urgent steps to combat terrorism.
    
He reminded Chidambaram that if he failed to act sternly against terrorism, "this time it will not only the share prices that will come down, but the entire country would have been let down and exposed to greater danger".

Advani, a former Home Minister, opposed India approaching the UN Security Council on the issue of terrorism.
    
"We should not make this mistake again. We should not forget the experience of taking the Kashmir issue there," he said, emphasising that India needed to tackle the menace on its own strength.
    
Noting that the Lashkar-e-Toiba's ideology was to use force against India through terrorist activities, he said Muslims in India needed to be made aware of the designs of the terror outfit.
    
"Spiritual Islam has to be respected. Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. But political Islam of this kind has to be combated and countered," he said adding that the "main enemies" of LeT were India, the US and Israel.
    
Referring to the recent meeting he had with the US Secretary of state Condoleeza Rice, he said that even she feels that the Army Chief in Pakistan was the "supremo".
    
He said he told Rice that there has been no dispute over Kashmir and there has been a unanimous resolution of Parliament proclaiming that the entire Jammu and Kashmir was an integrated and inalienable part of India.
    
Advani sought to know whether India has taken up with Pakistan recently the issue of return of 20 fugitives including underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, whom some people feel could have a hand in the Mumbai attacks.
    
He said that his party's Core Group has decided soon after the Mumbai attacks that it would "stand by" the government in whatever effective steps it takes to counter the 'jehadi terrorism' from Pakistan.
    
Taking part in the discussion, Milind Deora, the Congress MP from Mumbai (South) which bore the brunt of the November 26 terror attacks, said there was a need to "de-politicise" debates on terrorism.
    
"Terrorists have no religion. They can be from any religion," he said adding that the issue of terrorism should be kept away from politics.
    
Deora made a veiled attack on BJP and Shiv Sena for targeting ATS chief Hemant Karkare over the Malegaon blast probe and later declaring him a martyr when he laid down his life fighting terrorists in Mumbai.
    
Saluting the heroes who defeated the designs of heavily-armed terrorists, he said their sacrifice should not be forgotten with the passage of time.
    
Deora said that the intelligence gathering and investigation skills of various agencies should be strengthened.
    
Participating in the debate, CPM's Mohammad Salim said the issue of co-ordination between various government agencies and departments has been discussed in the House on several occasions.
    
He said a knee-jerk reaction should be avoided. "After every incident, a new organisation should not be set up," he said noting that it becomes difficult to co-ordinate between the various agencies and they function as separate entities.
    
The CPM member said the National Security Adviser (NSA) had been concentrating less on internal security and more on foreign and political affairs.
    
"We should tell the world that its actions should not be limited on papers. The United Nations should be asked to force Pakistan to take action," he added.
    
He warned that people from any religion could be "brainwashed" into waging war against others and efforts should be made to check it.