UP blasts: BJP for elaborate security for HP polls

Chandigarh, Nov 24: In view of the serial blasts in three cities of Uttar Pradesh yesterday, the BJP today demanded adequate security arrangements for the second phase of the Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh slated for December 19.

''HP is a sensitive state as it shares its borders with Jammu and Kashmir, so the security should be tightened'', BJP secretary Satya Pal Jain, in charge of party affairs in HP, stated here.

Addressing mediapersons, he said the Union Government and the Election Commission (EC) should ensure adequate security in HP to prevent a UP-like incident.

The bomb explosions were a result of the ''soft pedalling'' policy for ''political benefits'' adopted by the Union Government and the UP government towards terrorism, Mr Jain said. Stringent laws like POTA should be put into force to tackle terrorism, he added.

Mr Jain, who himself is an advocate, described the blasts in UP as an attack on the judiciary. The Union Government should ensure adequate protection for the judiciary, both judges and lawyers to prevent such incidents from re-occuring, he added.

UNI