NEW DELHI, Nov 25: On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Mumbai terror attack, BJP today alleged that the Centre’s attitude of linking the fight against terror with votebank politics has led to a “woefully slow” response to the threat.
Emphasising on the need for a determined effort to combat terrorism, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley regretted that unlike the US, which has fought back since 9/11, India has failed to sanitise itself against terrorism.
“Five years after the Mumbai attack, it is time to introspect where we stand in our fight against terror. Our western neighbour has not given up its designs to destabilize India through cross-border terrorism. Pakistani soil continues to be used to plan such attacks against India,” the BJP leader said on his Facebook page.
He lamented that other than cross-border terrorism, several indigenous modules are also operating in the country.
“The attitude of some governments in the states and certainly of the Central Government is to link the battle against terror with vote bank considerations rather than the concern for national security. Our immediate response to terror attacks is still woefully slow,” he said.
Though Ajmal Kasab–the lone terrorist caught alive in the Mumbai terror attack-was hanged, Pakistan has reportedly not cooperated satisfactorily with India on the issue.
“Five years after Mumbai attack, there is a need to build a national determination against terrorism. Post 9/11, the Americans have substantially immunized their nation against terror. Why can’t we do that?,” Jaitley asked.
“The level of non-cooperation shown by Pakistan is self-evident,” he added.
Jaitley also charged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with letting down India at the 2009 Sharm-el-Sheikh meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, saying he agreed to delink the composite dialogue from Islamabad’s attitude towards terror.
He claimed there is enormous amount of evidence and intelligence information available with India which “conclusively” establishes that the conspiracy for this terrorist attack was hatched across the border in Pakistan.
“The interrogation of David Coleman Headley by both the FBI and the NIA also evidences this. Pakistan, however, has refused to co-operate in nailing down the principal conspirators like Hafiz Saeed and others who were responsible for planning the attack,” Jaitley said. (PTI)
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