A political blame-game erupted on Wednesday over the serial blasts in poll-bound Rajasthan, with the BJP holding the 'soft, weak and apathetic' approach of the United Progressive Alliance government responsible for such terror acts and demanding re-introduction of the Prevention Of Terrorism Act.
Sharpening its attack on the Congress-led UPA on the issue of internal security, the Bharatiya Janata Party said that the war against terror cannot be won with 'kid gloves' and raked up the delay in the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru to back its charge.
Keen to corner the Congress on the issue in an important election year, BJP leader L K Advani was quick to say that the role and responsibility of the Central government in dealing with terrorism is much more than that of any state government.
"The UPA government, which will shortly complete four years in office, has such a dismal record in discharging this responsibility that it instills no confidence whatsover," he said, claiming that terrorists feel they have nothing to fear as long as the UPA government is in power.
The Leader of the Opposition alleged that the UPA government has failed to investigate and punish the guilty in any of the terror attacks that have taken place in the last four years.
This failure, he said, "is mainly due to the soft, weak and apathetic approach of a government that is unwilling to summon the requisite political will to mount a comprehensive attack on terrorism, for fear of losing its vote-bank".
While Advani demanded re-introduction of the anti-terror law POTA, saying it was "the need of the hour," party chief Rajnath Singh offered all support to the government if it formulates an effective plan to fight terror.
The party also rushed Advani and other senior leaders including Jaswant Singh, Gopinath Munde and Ramlal to Jaipur, which was rocked by serial blasts on Tuesday night.
The saffron party's gameplan seems to be attacking the government for scrapping POTA, an issue that it is vociferously raising in Karnataka.
"Several states have legislated POTA-type laws to deal with organised crime and terrorism after the repeal of POTA. Rajasthan and Gujarat have also legislated such laws. However, the Centre has not accorded Presidential assent to the laws from these states," senior leader Arun Jaitley said.
He said the Jaipur blasts are a "grim reminder to the entire nation that India is a soft state that can be attacked by terrorists at will".
Jaitely alleged that the UPA government was deliberately delaying the execution of Afzal Guru, thus "displaying both a weak-kneed policy and one that is linked to vote bank politics."
He also sought stern measures to check large-scale infiltration from Bangladesh, saying infiltrators from that country are not economic migrants and they may be creating potential sleeper cells and strengthening the intelligence network.
"The war against terror will be won not by words but by national resolve, political courage and decisive action. This action must be motivated by security concerns and not those of vote bank politics," he said.
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