Press Statement of Sh. Ravishankar Prasad, Spokesperson BJP

Each time the National Security Advisor, M.K Narayana gives an interview, he either creates a confusion or causes panic. In his last interview, although he is supposedly to be an expert made dreadful claims that India’s Atomic energy installations are under threat of terrorist attack and caused panic in the country. He had also claimed that LET and Al Qaeda elements have infiltrated into Indian Army. How far it was fair to create doubts about the credentials of the armed forces and create a public condition of “witch hunt”.

Now we have the NSA publicly claiming that we don’t have clinching evidence of ISI involvement in Mumbai blast but have a “Good evidence”. Surely the nation would like to be educated about the distinction between a good and a clinching evidence as far as involvement of ISI in the Mumbai blast are concerned. The NSA as security expert would certainly know that in the case of sponsoring cross border terrorism by a different country, a “Good Evidence” is as good as clinching evidence. The larger issue remains, how far is it fair and just for NSA to publicly berate the efforts of the Mumbai police which has otherwise done a good job in cracking the case. Our concern is that Mr. Narayana, has given a big elbow room to Pakistan in denying its role in fomenting terror in India and also in justifying with authority the entire allegation against ISI .Now Pakistan can also insist upon a joint investigation through the so called Joint anit-terrorism mechanism floated by the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh in Havana, which in itself embraces Pakistan as victim of terror and not perpetrator of terror.

It is high time that the Prime Minister ask his NSA not to shoot out his mouth so often as it embarrasses the security forces and the police. It will be also prudent for the Prime Minister and his NSA not to make a “Comic Affair” of national security with their flip flop statements, particularly in relation to Pakistan’s role in sponsoring cross border terrorism.

(Shyam Jaju)
Headquarter Incharge