BJP march againt Mumbai blasts; scoffs at UPA

Lucknow, July 15: BJP activists, led by senior party leader Murli Manohar Joshi, today staged a march against the Mumbai blasts condemning UPA government at the Centre and Mulayam Singh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh for adopting appeasement policies, which ''encouraged terrorism.''

''UPA and UP governments have been giving message that owing to its vote bank politics, they are unable to contain terrorism,'' BJP charged while identifying repeal of POTA by the Centre and ''protection'' to SIMI by UP government as ''blatant examples'' of appeasement.

The BJP contingent, also comprising UP BJP president Kesari Nath Tripathi, Leader of the Opposition in state assembly Lalji Tandon, former state chief Om Prakash Singh, marched from the party office to Raj Bhawan and handed over a memorandum to Governor T V Rajeswar in this regard.

They alleged it was a blunder on part of the UPA government to repeal POTA, since it had all the provisions against terror.

''Displaying pseudo-secularism, the UPA government withdrew POTA under prssure of Pakistan, left parties and 'so-called' pro-Muslim political parties,'' the BJP alleged.

By defending Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) in a shameless manner, the Samajwadi Party-led government had given a happy hunting ground to terrorist elements in UP, which witnessed attacks on Ram Janmabhoomi and Sankatmochan temple at Varanasi.

''SIMI has deadly links with foreign agencies and was involved in many terror incidents in UP,'' the BJP asserted.

The BJP memorandum said the SP government, by supporting the organisations like SIMI, had lost moral basis to remain in power any more.

It demanded a POTA-like legislation in the country to ensure that battle against terorism was fought in an impartial way in the state as well at the Centre.

UNI