BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said his party would introduce a "stringent" law if voted to power in the Lok Sabha polls.
CHENNAI: Terming UPA government's latest anti-terror initiatives of setting up of the National Investigation Agency and amending Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, as "too late and too little," BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said his party would introduce a "stringent" law if voted to power in the Lok Sabha polls.
He said that the Congress had wasted more than four years to act against terrorism and had brought these measures only at the "fag end" of its tenure.
"The Opposition had wholeheartedly supported the half-hearted measures of the Congress only in the interest of the nation. In fact, the Centre introduced these only after a furore was raised in the country," he said.
Claiming that the Congress had fallen victim of its campaign of branding the erstwhile POTA as "anti-minority," Naidu asserted that the BJP-led NDA would formulate a stringent law to deal with any type of terrorism.
"The law would be against terrorism and not against any religion," he said adding the presence of POTA, brought in by the NDA, had helped in faster conviction of those involved in the Parliament attack case.
"We would not be bothered by any criticism," he said adding national security was important.
Taking a dig on Prime Minster Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi for their "deafening silence," on the "controversial remarks" of Union Minister A R Antulay over the killing of Maharashtra ATS officer Hemant Karkare during the Mumbai carnage, Naidu said that this could "boost the Pakistani establishment which has been denying the role of its citizens in the attacks."
Talking about the Lok Sabha polls, Naidu said that issues like terrorism and inflation would work against the Congress.
He said local conditions and governance among others had been the issues dominating the polling trends in the state elections.
Rebel factor had led to the BJP's defeat in Rajasthan, he added.
Playing down the Left parties' effort to float an alternative front to the BJP and Congress, Naidu said there would be a "polarisation" in this regard and people would be voting only between BJP and Congress-led coalitions.
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