UPA soft on militancy, says BJP

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha LK Advani yesterday criticised the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's "soft approach" in dealing with terrorists.

Linking the serial blasts in Assam and Nagaland to this approach, he compared it to the Mumbai serial blasts of 1993.

He said this after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee held a meeting of top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders to review the situation in the North-east. "The guilt of the UPA government is not only on account of negligence, it is of a far higher order," said Advani.

"The Congress carries the stigma of having aided and abetted terrorists and extremist outfits that are now having a field day in different parts of the country," the former Deputy Prime Minister said.

Linking the Congress with the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa), Advani said: "This is most evident in Assam, where the Congress had accepted the support of Ulfa, a banned secessionist outfit whose leaders are camping in Bangladesh, in the recent Lok Sabha elections."

Calling it a disturbing sign, Advani said it was not only "baneful" for the country but would in the long run harm the Congress as well. "We have been witness to the days when the Congress with it connections with Bhindranwale in Punjab and the LTTE in Sri Lanka paid a huge price," he said.

Alluding to the Maoist corridor extending from Nepal to Andhra, Advani said, "the situation in Nepal is not hidden yet the Andhra Pradesh government decided to lift the ban on the People's War Group (PWG)," he said. The lifting of the ban on the PWG were policies distorted by electoral considerations, he added.

Advani said the repeal of POTA would be taken up by the BJP in Parliament. "The government should review and reverse its decision to do away with POTA," said Advani.

Advani said infiltration had increased in Jammu and Kashmir and the absence of the subject in the discussions between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was worrying.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil spoke to Advani before taking off for the North-east following the blasts.

"I was informed by the home minister of the incident, the BJP is concerned and hopes the government will be able to handle the situation," he added.