BJP asks party CMs to frame anti-terror laws

If the central government repeals the Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act (POTA), the six Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states will frame state-specific anti-terror laws.

This was announced by BJP chief M Venkaiah Naidu here today, on the concluding day of the two-day BJP chief ministers' meet. The six states are Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.

"We have not worked out details about these laws. Also a lot depends on whether the central government manages to repeal the POTA," said Naidu. The conclave ended with a speech by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The chief ministers decided to submit a memorandum to the Centre demanding that the state's share from the central revenue be raised from 29.3 per cent to 40 per cent.

"We will also demand that old high cost loans be waived as a one-time gesture," said Naidu.

The party also concentrated on rediscovering the common man during the conclave and stress was to be given to programmes like the "Annapurna dal bhat" centres in cities on the Chhattisgarh model, computerisation of land records and putting woman's name first on the patta of land allotment to prevent males from selling land without the woman's consent.

The BJP will also set up a five-member task force headed by Yashwant Sinha to oversee the implementation of the party manifestoes in the BJP-ruled states. Arun Jaitley, Arun Shourie, Sudheendra Kulkarni and Vijai Kapoor are the other members of the task force.

The recent census data emerged as a major pre-occupation with the party and states were asked to enforce the two-child norm and to evolve incentives and disincentives to curb population blast. "This will be across regions and communities," Naidu said.

The other bug bear of the party, the "re-falsification" of the text books by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is also to be resisted by the party. "The Leftist ideology is being spread through red guards of the UPA government," said Naidu.

Significantly, the meet emphasised greater co-ordination between the party and the administration of the party-ruled states.

"We have asked that a meeting of the BJP chief ministers should be held every six months, and a co-ordination panel be set up in these states comprising the chief minister and two senior ministers along with senior state leaders," Naidu.

Ministers has been asked to sit in the party offices once in a week to assure party workers.

The conclave was aimed at preparing the party chief ministers to counter a hostile regime at the Centre and to prove that while the UPA government was concentrating on removal of governors and rewriting of text books, it was the BJP which was concentrating on governance, sources said.

How much of the message actually percolated is a matter of debate.