The Hindu Business Line : Serious charge

A SERIOUS accusation has been levelled against the UPA Government at the Centre by Mr L. K. Advani that it is not paying adequate attention to national security. It has been given prominence as a lead item by most sections of the media.

Naturally so, because apart from being a respected and responsible frontline leader of the BJP, he is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha who, it can be reasonably presumed, will not indulge in loose talk. Moreover, he has made the charge on the formal public occasion of the conference of BJP Chief Ministers held at New Delhi.

His immediate grounds for anxiety are no doubt the imminent repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) and the removal of the ban on the People's War in Andhra Pradesh.

But to grasp the full implications of his statement, it is necessary to view the security environment as a whole in a much broader perspective so that the Government, in its eagerness to play to the political gallery, does not make the nation vulnerable to known and easily foreseeable internal and external threats.

Mr Advani himself has cited the consolidation of Maoist elements in Nepal as constituting a cause of grave concern to at least six States in India up to Andhra Pradesh.

The domestic situation, particularly in the context of the flaring up of tribal militancy in Manipur and the continuance of attacks by militants in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere, calls for the exercise of the utmost vigilance. All the more so, when the approach of election in Maharashtra is likely to serve as a pretext to anti-national elements to stir up trouble.

Externally, the possibility is ever present of acts of catastrophic terrorism by the al-Qaeda inspired International Islamic Front to upstage the US Presidential election.

This is the most inopportune moment for any responsible Government to lower its guard, or to give the impression that it is a pushover. The enactments to combat terrorism put on their statute-books by even open societies and long-standing democracies such as the UK and the US are more stringent than POTA. Compared to them, India is a soft state, lax in the quality of governance and enforcement of existing laws.

It simply cannot afford to fool around with the nation's security. The people need to be assured that effective measures are in place to ward off the dangers facing the country.

B. S. Raghavan