Within hours of security action against the terrorists in Mumbai getting over, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi put their political management plan in action.
While Gandhi quickly convened a meeting of the Congress Working Committee to send a strong political signal, Prime Minister Singh summoned a meeting with the military brass to plug the security loopholes. Incidentally, the prime minister had chaired a high-level meeting with key ministers to discuss the complaints about pay disparities of the armed forces yesterday.
Across the border, Pakistan did a complete U-turn today and announced that the chief of its Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) will not be sent to India. “The government of Pakistan has nothing to hide. Our hands are clean. We said the premier intelligence agency will co-operate but India hasn’t asked for an immediate visit of the ISI chief. We will not take any decision under pressure. We will take measures in the interest of Pakistan,” Pakistan’s foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, said after an emergency meeting of the Pakistani cabinet in Islamabad.
Home Minister Shivaraj Patil too was seen in action. He chaired a high-level meeting to review coastal security. It was attended by Home secretary Madhukar Gupta, Coast Guard Director General Vice Admiral R F Contractor, Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Defence Secretary Vijay Singh and officers of the Intelligence Bureau. The government today decided to augment the security of 12 major and 120 minor ports in the country after the brazen revelations that the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror strike took the sea route to enter the country.
The prime minister has also decided to convene a meet of all major political parties to built a consensus in the fight against terror, following the worst-ever terrorist attack in India’s history.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist), while calling all sections and parties to rise above sectarian interests and ensure the unity and integrity of India, blamed the government’s pro-US policy for internal security troubles.
“India’s policy of aligning with US-Israeli interests has inflicted major damage to India’s image. The unthinking acceptance of US designs in the war against “Islamic terrorism will cost India heavily,” CPI (M) Politburo Member Sitaram Yechuri said in the latest edition of party mouthpiece People’s Democracy.