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[Taha Mehmood]

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Lead-anti-terror-discourse--Advani-to-Kalam/364547

Lead anti-terror discourse: Advani to Kalam

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Suman K Jha Posted: Sep 23, 2008 at 0017 hrs IST

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 22: After zeroing in on Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi as the party's mascot for its anti-terror plank, the BJP
on Monday hoped that A P J Abdul Kalam would help build a national
consensus on Terror and the need to effect stringent anti-terror laws.

"I was happy to read media reports about your concern over terrorism,
which has assumed such serious dimensions that it has not only gravely
imperiled India's national security and national unity but also
threatened the safety of the common man... I feel that a person of
your eminence can help in elevating the discourse on terrorism to a
level where it can be discussed as a national problem requiring broad
national consensus unimpaired by narrow electoral considerations,"
said NDA prime ministerial candidate L K Advani in a letter to the
former President.

In his recent interventions, Kalam has stressed for a "unified
intelligence agency" and a "national mission to eradicate terrorism".
"I believe, time has come, apart from our multiple agencies
forecasting and handling of the terrorist activities, we need to
evolve an aggressive mission called National Campaign to Eradicate
Terrorism (NCET), with mission oriented integrated management
structure, duly passed as a Bill by Parliament," he had said last
week. Kalam also called for a law "to provide stringent punishments
and faster justice to the perpetrators of the crime in a time bound
manner" and "national citizen ID cards for all".


Many of these ideas have been mooted by the BJP in the past. While
Advani, as former Union Home Minister, wanted to implement a national
ID card scheme for the country, the BJP holds the Centre responsible
"for halting Gujarat's crackdown on terror agents by its refusal to
give its nod to the GUJCOC Bill, passed by the state Assembly some
four years ago". The party in its recent National Executive said that
the "Congress was communalising the war on terror."

While the BJP chose to look the other way when attempts were being
made to give him a second term as President, or when he rooted
strongly for the Indo-US nuclear deal more recently, Kalam,
nonetheless, has always been the "Ideal Indian Muslim" for the saffron
party and the RSS.

"Like you and millions of ordinary citizens in the country, I am
extremely concerned that an issue of such national and global
importance is being ignored by a section of the political class," said
Advani in his letter, in an obvious reference to the Congress position
on terror.

"Therefore, your statement has come as a great relief. It holds out a
hope for building a national consensus for initiating effective
measures, including stringent laws, against terror. My intention in
writing this letter is to request you to lead this initiative in a
manner you deem fit. I assure you the cooperation of my party and that
of the National Democratic Alliance in this effort," concluded
Advani's letter.