POTA cannot prevent terrorist attacks: PM

On Board PM's Special Aircraft, July 16 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today ruled out reimpositioning of the Prevention of Terrorist Act (POTA), and said this law could not prevent the terrorist attacks on Akshardham and various other places.

The Prime Minister was speaking to reporters, accompanying him on his three-day visit to St Petersburg, Russia, to attend the outreach sessions with the G8 nations -- US, UK, Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan.

''It is far from the truth that POTA is the only way. There are many other ways. We will strengthen our intelligence-gathering and security apparatus, both at the state and the central level,'' he said.

''We will emerge victorious,'' he said, while expressing satisfaction with the functioning of the Home Ministry.

The Prime Minister said there was, however, need for upgrading the ability to cope with such attacks by strengthening disaster management capabilities.

The BJP had vehemently criticised the UPA governmtnt's decision to the POTA lapse, and ever since the Mumbai and Srinagar blasts, senior party leaders had been urging the Centre to reinstate the law.

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