'Re-enact POTA, no soft attitude towards terror'

Panaji, May 20: Blaming the Centre for its ''soft attitude'' toward terrorism for ''vote bank politics'', BJP leader M Vankaiah Naidu today pleaded for re-enactment of the ''urgently needed POTA'' in the light of the blast at Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad two days ago.

''Ordinary problems can be dealt with by ordinary laws. However, extraordinary situations demnd extra-ordinary measures. This calls for re-enactment of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA),'' Mr Naidu told media persons here today.

He also urged the Centre to evolvs a consensus for setting up a ''Federal Investigative Agency'' to deal with acts of terrorism and extremist crime across various states so that the country would have an inter-state anti-terrorism act.

''Terrorism these days is not mere law and order issue and hence it requires a national approach through a national policy decision by giving up notional approach. At the same time, the leaders particularly the Prime Minister and the Home minister should stop giving parrot like speeches like gramaphone records,'' Mr Naidu said.

''Mere condolence of the dead and compensation to the survivors seem to be the policy of the UPA government,'' he said.

The country should carry out execution of Afzal Guru, the architect of attack on Parliament House as ordered by the Supreme Court so that it would send a clear signal to the anti-national forces besides dispelling the notion that the UPA government was soft toward terrorism for the sake of vote bank politics, Mr Naidu said.

''With lack of political will and clear cut policies imbued with misguided vote bank politics, to deal with situation arising out of cross border terrorism, the UPA government abolished POTA without bringing any alternative legislation to deal with the terrorism menace,'' Mr Naidu said.

At the sametime, the government had sent wrong signals by adopting a soft attitude towards terrorism and hard on nationalism, as it did in mishandling the hanging of Afzal Guru, the main accused in the dastardly attack on Parliament.

''With this, terrorists and their masters, who were out to ''weaken and subvert the country, cripple it economically, demoralise it psychologically and create communal disaffection in the society, were increasingly becoming confident that they can do anything in India and easily get away with it,'' the BJP leader said.

No concrete action plan was on hand with the Centre to deal effectively with terrorism even as a series of incidents had been reported in the capital city of Delhi, financial capital of Mumbai with serial train blasts, attacks on science cpital of Bangalore, IT capital of Hyderabad, textiles capital of Coimbatore and RSS headquarters of Nagpur besides Guwahati and Assam, he regretted.

UNI