Members stress strengthening intelligence to deal with terror

New Delhi, July 27 (UNI) Cutting across party lines, members of the Rajya Sabha today expressed serious concern over spurt in terror attacks in the country and made a strong case for strengthening security agencies and intelligence infrastructure to ''finish off'' the scourge of terror.

Ms Shobhna Bhartia (nominated), who was making her maiden speech in the House, suggested that the government should revisit its decision on having a Minister of Internal Security.

''In view of the magnitude of terror attacks, there is a need for the country to reinstate a Minister of Internal Security,'' she said.

In her nearly half-an-hour-long impressive speech, Ms Bhartia, Chairperson of the Hindustan Times Group, said there was an imperative need to launch a global offensive against those who were sheltering terrorists and providing them safe havens in other countries.

She also took a swipe at western powers for demanding from India conclusive evidence of terror infrastructure in its neighbouring country. ''But the same powers attacked Iraq with lesser evidence of nukes in that country,'' she said.

While criticising the UN for its failure to decide even on the definition of terrorism, she said India sorely needed a unified political strategy to isolate terror and ''finish it off.'' Ms Bhartia also made an impassioned plea to the government to look at ''pool of grievances'' which were different in nature. The Naxal problem, she said, could be dealt through the welfare of the poor people and provding them education and job opportunities.

She said the Ayodhya episode definitely created a ''reservoir of grievances'', but the RSS alone should not be blamed for communal frenzy.

''Some LDF and UDF members met Mr Madani in a Kerala jail and demanded parole and five star treatment for him. By doing so, what kind of message are we sending?'' she asked.

Mr Lalit Suri (Independent), Prof. Ramdeo Bhandari (RJD), Prashant Chatterjee (CPM), Janeshwar Mishra (SP) and Rajeev Shukla (Cong) also participated in the debate, which resumed today.

The debate remained inconclusive.

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