Cong has realised need for unified command to curb naxalism:Advani

Hyderabad, Apr 18 (UNI) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L K Advani tonight observed that the UPA Government had finally realised that naxalism ''is the biggest threat to internal security necessitating setting up of a unified command to tackle the menace''.

Paying floral tributes to over 60 persons killed in extremist and terrorist strikes at the Nizam College grounds here, Mr Advani, who was here as part of his ''Bharat Suraksha Yatra'', said it was unfortunate that the Congress-led government had scrapped the Coordination Committee set up by the previous NDA Government for a coordinated approach to the menace by the naxalite-infested state.

Over 7,000 people had been killed in extremist violence in the country, whereas after 3000 people had been killed in the attack on World Trade Centre in the US it had launched a war on terrorism at the global level, he said.

On the other hand, the ruling Congress had repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act enacted by the previous Vajpayee-led government, playing vote bank politics and endangering national unity and integrity.

At the height of vote bank politics, the fronts led by the Congress and Left had passed a resolution in the Kerala Assembly to press for the release of PDP Chief Abdul Nazer Madhani, main accused in the Coimbatore serial Bomb blasts case, he charged.

The Congress was protecting infiltrators from Bangladesh and and the government had failed in its Constitutional duty as enshrined in article 355 of the Constitution, he alleged.

Stating that over 4,000 farmers had committed suicide in Andhra Pradesh during the Congress regime, he said the BJP would press for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe to go into the problem threadbare and evolve a solution to the agrarian crisis.

POLITICS-ADVANI-NAXALISM TWO LAST HYDERABAD

Coming down heavily on the five per cent religion-based reservation for minorities in Andhra Pradesh, Mr Advani wanted the Congress to go through the speeches of leaders, including late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru during the Constituent Assembly debates. Accusing the UPA government of scuttling a probe against the Congress in connection with the Volcker Report on the oil-for-food scam, Mr Advani said the dropping of Mr Natwar Singh as External Affair Minister was not enough. The Congress, which had been named in the report, should be subjected to investigation.

Corruption had brought down many a governments which were elected to power with a huge majority, he said, recalling the coming to power by of late Rajiv Gandhi at the Centre with more than three-fourth majority, which was not possible even for Pandit nehru. But he lost power within one term, allegedly due to Bofors scam, he recalled.

While the farmers in the country were finding it difficult to get a remunerative price for their produce, the common man was struggling to meet both ends meet due to skyrocketing of prices of essential commodities, he added.

UNI