New Delhi: Taking on the government on the
third anniversary of the Mumbai attacks, BJP on Saturday said it has
failed to take effective steps to counter terrorism and
emphasised on the need for putting international pressure on
Pakistan to hand over those involved in the case.
Paying homage to those killed in the attack, BJP
spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said, "Every countryman thought
that now the government will take steps so that the country
will be safe. But, unfortunately terror attacks continued to
take place in Mumbai and Delhi also."
The BJP charged that though NIA had been created and a
slew of measures announced post-26/11, not a single terror
module has been tracked and successfully investigated.
"No terrorist or real culprits have been nabbed. Not a
single terrorist could be captured. People are really worried
and concerned about the safety. We deplore this failure of the
government to make the country safe and secure and nab the
culprits," Javadekar said.
He maintained that the perpetrators and handlers of the
26/11 terror attack were still walking free in Pakistan and
have not been punished despite India handing over sufficient
evidence.
"Pakistan is not serious about bringing them to justice
and is actually sheltering them... Against this backdrop, our
Prime Minister has called his Pakistani counterpart a man of
peace which is ridiculous," Javadekar said.
He insisted that India should have made these attacks
"a prestige issue" and built international pressure on
Pakistan.
"But our Prime Minister has himself called Pakistan a
victim of terror like India at the Sharm-el-Sheikh meeting....
Today, when US President Barack Obama can proudly say that his
country is safe, our Prime Minister unfortunately cannot make
such a claim," Javadekar said.
BJP alleged that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had in
fact rubbed salt on the wounds of the people.
Javadekar maintained that when Pakistan puts pressure
on India instead of contesting it immediately and expressing
anger, our government appears to be soft on the issue.
The opposition also raised the issue of the funds spent
on 26/11 convict Ajmal Kasab and government laxity in pursuing
the case against Pakistan.
"It is unfortunate that the expenditure incurred on
Kasab is more than the money spent on victims of the 26/11
attacks," Javadekar said.
The party will raise this issue in the coming week in
Parliament.
PTI
