UPA's track record in internal security better than NDA's: PM

In a combative mood, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took on Leader of Opposition L K Advani, saying that the UPA government had a better track record on the issue of internal security than the NDA regime, in which Advani had been home minister.

"Let me assure him (Advani) that in terms of real hard work on the ground, our government and our home ministry have a better track record to show than that of the previous government," he said.

Singh said "even when we have had terrorist incidents like the ones we saw during the NDA rule, we have not had a breakdown of law and order and upsurge of communal violence of the type we saw in Gujarat. Compare the violence after the Godhra incident in Gujarat to the situation in Maharashtra after last year's Mumbai blasts."

Turning to the problem of minorities, the PM said Sachar Committee had brought out the stark reality about the conditions of Muslim community in the country.

Noting that the government was designing targeted programmes for minority concentrated districts, he said, "We make no apology about it."

He said that there would be no need for such programmes in the long run as all communities catch up in their social indicators. "But given current disparities, it is imperative that we carry all sections along."

On the insurgency in Assam and ULFA, he said that he had always condemned violence and extremism in the North Eastern state. "We will never hesitate to sit down and talk to a fellow Indian, howsoever misguided he or she may be, if such conversation can bring peace to our people," he said.

At the same time, he said that "we will never compromise on the unity and integrity of our country or allow those who kill innocent people to go unpunished."