Press Statement issued by BJP National Spokesperson and MP
Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad

The comments of the Congress against the NDA government in general and Shri L K Advani in particular on the issue of handing terrorism is not only amusing but also is an attempt to conveniently gloss over its own dismal record which had led to the growth, consolidation and spread of the menace of terrorism across vast tracks of the country leading to the loss of more than 70,000 lives so far. If Jammu & Kashmir simmers even today, if the north east continues to be in turmoil with anti India sentiments being kindled in many areas, if the naxalite problem has acquired menacing proportions, then the Congress will have to apportion substantial blame for the manner in which they have treated these problems indifferently and with criminal negligence at times for nearly 52 years that they have ruled the country either directly or in coalition with others.

The core issue is whether one fights terror and terrorists with commitment and conviction or with convenience and an eye on the vote bank. This is the crucial benchmark that differentiates the BJP and the NDA as against the Congress and the UPA. Yes, during the NDA regime, there were terrorist attacks but the perpetrators were either killed on the spot or promptly convicted under due process of law using effective anti-terror laws like POTA. Moreover, a resurgent security force given full freedom by the political leadership of the NDA to take tough action without interference, bore the fruits. This happened in the case of the attacks on Akashardham, Raghunath Mandir in Jammu and in the attack on the Parliament. What is the record of the Congress? Afzal Guru, the mastermind of the Parliament attack case, was convicted by the trial court, and this was further affirmed in appeal by the Delhi High Court and finally given the seal of approval by the Supreme Court. Even the review petition and the curative petition by Afzal Guru has been rejected. Yet the Congress led UPA government is dithering for the last one and half years in executing the final orders, on the nebulous plea of clemency which can be decided in a single day by the government. Sometime the vote bank of the UP elections forces the postponement, and sometimes the illusory hope of a victory in Gujarat leads to its deferment.

The Congress Party and its equally active coalition partners of the UPA with their eyes on vote banks, are repeatedly giving signals to the terrorists and their patrons in India and across the border that strong initiative against terrorism is tradable for votes. This is evident from the following:

1. Abdul Nasir Madani, the mastermind of the 1998 Coimbatore Bomb Blast Case, in which 58 people were killed and nearly 300 injured, and in which Shri L K Advani was saved by sheer providence because his plane was late; has been acquitted by the trail court by a judgement which is highly vulnerable in law. Why no appeal is being allowed to be filed by the prosecution against the said order when they have a friendly government in Tamil Nadu and the CBI is under their control?
2. The Congress repeatedly and extensively campaigned against POTA and manipulated to convince the minorities that this law instead of being against the terrorist is directed against them, knowing fully well that many innocent muslims have also become victims of terrorism as in the Mecca Masjid blast, at Ajmer Sharief, the Lumbini Park blast in Hyderabad, at Malegaon and throughout the continuing violence in Jammu and Kashmir. This shameful example of vote bank politics by a party which has ruled the country for nearly 52 years has become the single most example in breaking the morale of our security and intelligence forces who were till 2004 were having a clear upper hand in dealing with the terrorist forces. This was done even though the Supreme Court had upheld the legal and constitutional validity of POTA. It is not without reason that many security and IB chiefs at the time of their retirement have publicly declared the need for a POTA type law.
3. During the UPA regime, terrorism has struck deep not only in the hinterland but also across the entire country including the south. It is a matter of deep concern that the mastermind of all the major terrorist attacks in India during the UPA regime, be it the Mumbai Train blasts, Delhi bomb blasts during Diwali, Malegaon, Samjhauta Express, Mecca Masjid blast in Hyderabad, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, terrorist attacks at Ayodhya and Varanasi, have not yet been detected much less prosecuted. Only low end peripheral facilitators have been rounded up while the masterminds and real conspirators remain elusive. The detection and conviction level remains seriously paralyzed.
4. This paralysis is on account of patent political interference. It has been reported and widely shared by security experts that whenever the security forces round up a suspect upon prima facie suspicion and begin to proceed further to interrogate for establishing the link with terrorism and get further leads, then there is political interference at significantly higher levels. It appears that there exists a directly sponsored campaign against the police to desist from interrogating suspects until legal evidence becomes available against them. This is an important reason that has severely impacted the morale of the security forces to an all time low under the UPA.
5. It needs to be noted that during the NDA regime, nearly 300 sleeper modules, which used to facilitate and create the ground to operationalize terror acts, were destroyed with a firm hand. The UPA record in this connection is pathetic.
6. The Congress has not done its homework on Afzal Guru. He was rounded up for questioning on eleven occasions by the J&K police between 1993 and 1997 on the ground of suspicious activity. Again in 2001, he was once again rounded up for interrogation by the J&K police but not formally arrested. However, during the NDA regime, when he was identified as one of the main conspirators in the attack on Parliament, he was charged, tried and convicted and sentenced to the gallows for wagging an attack on India. But it is the Congress government which is trying to save him with a pure eye on vote bank politics. It is a complete lie that the BJP or the NDA facilitated his release at any point of time.

What is the crucial difference? The difference clearly lies in the approach towards dealing with terrorism. The Congress lacks the commitment and conviction to firmly act and wage a determined war against anti-national subversive forces as compared to the nationalist BJP which has a history of taking strong willed decisions backed by definitive action. This approach gave a firm message to the terrorists and their patrons that it is dangerous to operate India while the BJP led NDA government is in power. Unfortunately, under the Congress led UPA government, this impression no longer exists.

As the nation is acknowledging the BJP’s approach and stand on the issue of internal security and terrorism, hence in desperation the Congress is trying to obfuscate reality by quoting statistics while actually glossing over the fundamental approach that is required to conclusively deal with the menace of terrorism. The BJP denounces the Congress’ soft attitude towards terrorism which will create further dangers for the country.

(Shyam Jaju)
Office Incharge