War on terror not about religion

deepak pace

DJ_DEE
New Delhi: BJP leader L K Advani on Wednesday pledged support for two anti-terrorism bills in Parliament but alleged the Government had been "soft on terror" and only the Mumbai attacks spurred it into action.

Speaking soon after Home Minister P. Chidambaram appealed to all Lok Sabha members to pass the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment (UAPA) bills, Advani said the Government had woken up too late.

"I cannot express happiness but I express satisfaction today. You have today admitted that the Government was wrong for 10 years and will rectify mistakes. You have woken up from Kumbhakaran's sleep. I want that you admit that you were wrong," said Advani.

"You attacked us (BJP) as if we have committed a crime when we ushered in the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA)," while referring to the amendments that the Government hoped to pass in the UAPA that many analysts see as a watered down version of POTA. POTA was enacted by the BJP in March 2002.

"The dimension of the Mumbai attack needed to be looked at differently as terrorists identified foreign nationals in The Taj hotel and The Oberoi Trident and killed them.
 
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