Advani's adjournment motion on internal security defeated

New Delhi, Nov 29 (UNI) The adjournment motion on internal security situation, moved in the Lok Sabha by Leader of Opposition L K Advani, was tonight defeated by a voice vote amid a walk out by the BJP-led NDA as the government refused to give a commitment to bring back a law like the POTA to deal with terrorism.

Replying to a five-hour long debate on the issue, Home Minister Shivraj Patil asserted that the law and order situation in the country had improved and listed out the steps being taken to strengthen internal security system.

He said the situation even in Jammu and Kashmir, North-East and Naxal-affected states have shown overall improvement. The government has plans to modernise and strengthen the police force as well as the intelligence network.

The Home Minister said the approach of the UPA government was to win over the confidence of the people, which went a long way in supporting the official machinery to combat terrorism.

Denying remarks attributed to him to the effect that there was threat to nuclear installations in the wake of Indo-US nuclear treaty, Mr Patil said he was misquoted.

Referring to the criticism of the BJP for repealing POTA, Mr Patil was non-commital whether the government would bring back a similar law and said if a law was too stringent, it could be misused.

In this context, he pointed out that some of the provisions in the POTA had been incorporated in the new Unlawful Activities Act.

Dissatisfied with the approach of the government on the Afzal hanging issue, Mr Advani announced that the Opposition would not pariticpate in the voting on the adjournment motion and led his colleagues in the Opposition out.

He said he would not have brought the adjournment motion, if the Home Minister had not made such a ''dangerous'' statement regarding threat to the country from all sides - air, sea and land.

More UNI GS/KAS/SH vd GC2012