BJP MPs get more ‘intelligence’ to check terror run
BJP in keeping with its efforts to bring the issue of terrorism to the political centre stage, invited former Intelligence Bureau chief Ajit Doval to enlighten its parliamentary party members on various dimensions of national security.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: With the Andhra Pradesh police and the Centre still groping in the dark about leads in the Hyderabad blasts, the BJP, in keeping with its efforts to bring the issue of terrorism to the political centre stage, invited former Intelligence Bureau chief Ajit Doval to enlighten its parliamentary party members on various dimensions of national security.
The principal opposition party has decided to mount an aggressive campaign in the coming days to expose the Manmohan Singh government’s dismal record on containing terror, using the spate of jehadi strikes in the past three years as the platform to intensify its attack on the ruling combine. The exercise to educate its MPs about the nature and gravity of the threat faced by the country and ways to counter it saw the party leadership seeking the help of Mr Doval, considered an expert on internal security.
The former IB chief, in his speech lasting some 25 minutes, reeled out statistics to portray a grim internal security scenario. Of the 670 districts in the country as many as 270, Mr Doval pointed out, were violence-prone. And as many as 70 districts falling in this category had been ravaged by terrorism. The veteran intelligence sleuth bemoaned the country’s response to the run of terror attacks, describing it as “knee-jerk” and “ad hoc.”
Calling for a well-thought out and co-ordinated plan to eliminate the scourge, he asked the country’s political class to rise above narrow considerations. Competitive internal politics could not help in any way in weeding it out, he said.
Mr Doval described the threat of Islamic terrorism as being “real” and “very serious.” India’s immediate neighbours, particularly Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, he said, had become havens for various jehadi groups, each one determined to wreak havoc in India. With more and more indigenous elements getting attracted towards terrorism, he felt that the task of our security agencies had become that much more difficult.
The former IB director also made out a strong case for restructuring the country’s intelligence set-up -a structure which had been inherited from the British, without any changes. “We need to alter it to suit local conditions to make it more effective,” he told the BJP MPs.
While emphasising the importance of proper intelligence feedback in fighting terrorism, Mr Doval argued that what was more important was to carry out a counter-attack so as to cripple the plans of the terrorists. He supported the proposal for the enactment of a tough anti-terror law.
“When Pota was introduced in the country, a stern message was conveyed to the terrorists and their patrons across the borders about the country’s resolve and determination to fight terrorism,” Mr Doval is learnt to have said.
The principal opposition party has decided to mount an aggressive campaign in the coming days to expose the Manmohan Singh government’s dismal record on containing terror, using the spate of jehadi strikes in the past three years as the platform to intensify its attack on the ruling combine. The exercise to educate its MPs about the nature and gravity of the threat faced by the country and ways to counter it saw the party leadership seeking the help of Mr Doval, considered an expert on internal security.
The former IB chief, in his speech lasting some 25 minutes, reeled out statistics to portray a grim internal security scenario. Of the 670 districts in the country as many as 270, Mr Doval pointed out, were violence-prone. And as many as 70 districts falling in this category had been ravaged by terrorism. The veteran intelligence sleuth bemoaned the country’s response to the run of terror attacks, describing it as “knee-jerk” and “ad hoc.”
Calling for a well-thought out and co-ordinated plan to eliminate the scourge, he asked the country’s political class to rise above narrow considerations. Competitive internal politics could not help in any way in weeding it out, he said.
Mr Doval described the threat of Islamic terrorism as being “real” and “very serious.” India’s immediate neighbours, particularly Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, he said, had become havens for various jehadi groups, each one determined to wreak havoc in India. With more and more indigenous elements getting attracted towards terrorism, he felt that the task of our security agencies had become that much more difficult.
The former IB director also made out a strong case for restructuring the country’s intelligence set-up -a structure which had been inherited from the British, without any changes. “We need to alter it to suit local conditions to make it more effective,” he told the BJP MPs.
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While emphasising the importance of proper intelligence feedback in fighting terrorism, Mr Doval argued that what was more important was to carry out a counter-attack so as to cripple the plans of the terrorists. He supported the proposal for the enactment of a tough anti-terror law.
“When Pota was introduced in the country, a stern message was conveyed to the terrorists and their patrons across the borders about the country’s resolve and determination to fight terrorism,” Mr Doval is learnt to have said.
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