BJP moots legislation with killer instinct to face terrorism

Dehradun, Sep 7 (UNI) Expressing serious concern over the stepped up terrorist activities across the country, the Bharatiya Janata Party today suggested to the Government to bring an anti-terrorist legislation with a "killer instinct'' to tackle the menace and assured its support to any such constitutional amendment for the purpose.

The suggestion was contained in the opening remarks of party President Rajnath Singh to the three-day National Executive of the Party which began here this afternoon.

Without going into the controversy over the scrapping of the POTA, implemented by the NDA, "we will suggest that the government bring a strong legislation retaining the ''good clauses' of POTA, to contain terrorism. It has also been a demand by the security agencies. If any such legislation is brought we will support it.

What we want is that the law should not provide a 'healing touch but a killer instinct' against terrorism," party spokesman and general secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad told newspersons.

He said the present government was not approaching the menace with a killer instinct as a result of which there was alarming increase in such activities of ultras. He referred to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement in which he had also expressed concern over the issue.

Mr Prasad said the Srinagar kind of a situation was seen in Mumbai on this year's Independence Day celebrations which were under the shadow of terrorist threat.

The BJP President began his speech with deploring the UPA government's stand over the Vande Mataram and sought to pin down Congress President Sonia Gandhi for her absence at the Congress function organised to observe the concluding ceremony of the centenary of the National Song. He termed as ridiculous the statement by Congress spokesman Janardhan Dwivedi that the function was organised by the Sewa Dal and she was not invited for it.

Dubbing it as the height of the vote bank politics, Mr Singh said 'Vande Mataram' was a symbol of '' our cultural identity and an issue of respect. But the Congress tried to politicise it for ulterior motives.'' He said the absence of Mrs Gandhi had also established that today's Congress had ''lost the legacy ''of the original party which participated in the freedom struggle. "We are however happy that ninety per cent of Muslims also participated in the recitation of the Vande Mataram today," he added.

The BJP President, meanwhile, set up a five-member committee headed by former party President Venkaiah Naidu to launch a nation-wide campaign on the issue of Vande Mataram.

The party asked the Government to amend the article 51(A) of the Constitution to bring the national song on a par with the national anthem to give it equal respect.

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