Lucknow, September 11
Apprehending that international terrorism had the potential to start another world war, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today said the world would have to unite in order to wipe out this problem from its roots.“The threat of another world war is attached with the growing problem of terrorism which has spread its reach across the globe. A united stand is needed to fight this menace and wipe it out completely,” he told a meeting of BJP workers in his Lok Sabha constituency here.
The USA seemed to think that the problem of terrorism was miles away from it until the twin WTC towers had been attacked in that country’s own heart four years ago, proving its calculations to be incorrect, Mr Vajpayee said.
“When we used to talk about terrorism with them...they would not take it seriously as the problem had not struck them till then,” he recalled.
“When religion gets mixed with terrorism, it becomes even more dangerous,” he said adding even though it was sheer madness to blow up one’s own body in the so-called ‘fidayeen’ attacks, the issue would have to be dealt with a heavy hand.
“We should never forget the image of terrorists making a bid to blow up the makeshift Ram Temple at the Ramjanmabhoomi complex in Ayodhya recently as complacency can cost us dearly”, he said.
“We should ensure that carelessness does not creep in”, the former Prime Minister said adding that with a combined and vigilant stand, the country should effectively battle the scourge of terrorism.
Mr Vajpayee also expressed concern on the problem of Naxalism in the country and accused the present government of not taking effective steps to deal with it.
— PTI
