Troop withdrawal detrimental to nation: BJP

Raipur, Mar 27: BJP President Rajnath Singh today said 'withdrawal' of troops from Jammu and Kashmir was unfortunate and alleged that the Congress was compromising on national interests to save its government.

''Troops were gradually withdrawn from Doda, Poonch and Rajouri sectors in the past three months. Now, even the Army has admitted it'', he told a news conference here.

Pointing out that such a step would prove detrimental to the interests of the nation, he said it appeared that the Congress was concerned over the survival of its government by succumbing to the pressure of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), state's major ruling coalition partner.

''Such decision should have been taken in consultation with all political parties, including the opposition'', Mr Singh said, adding neither political parties, Army nor Intelligence agencies were in favour of troops withdrawal from the troubled region.

''Congress should have told PDP that it was not possible to withdraw troops till Pakistan-sponsored anti-India tirade ended'', he said, adding that there were also reports about Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) becoming active in Tamil Nadu, where a major coalition partner of Congress is heading the government.

Alleging that the Congress was not serious about internal security, he said the previous NDA government had taken stern initiatives to deal with terrorism and such threats. ''We had enacted strict legislations like POTA but the Congress government repealed it without bringing any alternative law'', he said.

Asked about the spurt in Maoist activities and massacre of security forces in BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh, Mr Singh said the Naxalites were targetting innocent people as the state government had taken stern action to deal with them in the last three years.

The BJP President did not agree with the perception that his party MPs had raised noisy protests in Parliament over Nandigram police firing but preferred to remain silent on the massacre of 55 people, including security personnel, by the Maoists in Chhattisgarh.

UNI

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