Thaindian News

New Delhi/Mumbai, July 14 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party Thursday slammed the government on the Mumbai blasts, calling it a failure of policy and not just intelligence.

While Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley blamed the absence of a strict anti-terrorism law, veteran leader L.K. Advani alleged that Pakistan could be sustaining the Indian Mujahideen, being blamed by some for the triple bombings.

“It is a policy failure, not intelligence failure. There have been repeated attacks on Mumbai, this is a failure of policy,” Advani said at a press conference in Mumbai after visiting the injured in various hospitals. At least 17 people were killed and 131 injured in the blasts Wednesday evening.

“I condemn the incident, but along with that appeal to the government that you should have an attitude of zero tolerance towards terrorism,” he said.

Advani quoted reports of a probable link between the blast and the Indian Mujahideen and said even if it were behind the attack, it was being sustained by Pakistan.

“I don’t know if it is Indian Mujahideen, even if it is IM, they get sustenance from Pakistan. The last attack on our land is proved to have been engineered by the (Pakistan’s spy agency) ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence),” Advani said.

The BJP leader said the government of India should take strong actions to get ISI declared a terrorist organisation and stop talks with the country until concrete steps against terror were taken.

“So far as India is concerned, the government of India should shed its ambivalence to terrorism,” Advani said, adding that India’s should have a zero tolerance policy towards terrorism.

Jaitley meanwhile blamed the government’s vote-bank politics and absence of strong anti-terrorism laws for the attack.

“They must arrest those guilty in the Mumbai blasts, but there should be a system to stop such attacks. The intelligence will have to be increased. Many announcements were made after 26/11 but what was done?” Jaitley said in New Delhi.

“They are talking about the communal violence bill when the communal atmosphere in the country is peaceful. But an anti-terrorism law which is the need of the hour is not being brought. The thinking behind this is of vote-bank politics and this makes our fight against terrorism difficult,” he said.