Strong laws needed to fight terror: Rahul Gandhi

Jalandhar, Sept 24 : Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the country needed stronger laws to fight terrorism, but dismissed suggestions for bringing back POTA, saying it was a failed law.

On the final day of his three-day tour to Punjab, the Amethi MP told reporters here that fighting terror was more about having a strong political will than having tough laws like POTA.

"And our Prime Minister has that political will," he added.

He pointed out that the terror attack on Parliament (December 2001) and the Kandahar hijack (December 1999) happened when POTA was in operation.

When asked about his prime ministerial ambitions, Rahul said: "My candidate for the PM's post for the next Lok Sabha elections is Dr. Manmohan Singh.

Dr Singh is not just his candidate but also of the entire Congress party, he added. Stressing that the Indo-US civil nuclear deal is fundamental to meeting India's growing needs, he said: "Tt will take us closer to where we want to be - a powerful nation, a nation that has weight."

On recent church attacks in Orissa and Karnataka, Rahul said as far as the UPA and Congress party are concerned, all members of the country are equal and have a right to practice any religion

"This is the fundamental difference between my party and the opposition," he added.

ANI