New Delhi, December 4
The BJP has offered conditional support to the UPA government in its fight against terrorism if it “immediately suspends miscalled peace process with Pakistan.”
After two-hour deliberations, the Core Group of the BJP formulated a 10-point charter as a precondition for standing with the government against India, said Jaswant Singh, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha.
But for all the conditionalities prescribed by the BJP, the tone lacked the past BJP belligerence and stridency with no mention of hot pursuit or surgical strikes.
Jaswant Singh justified this by saying: “If some change of situation has taken place in five years (after the NDA rule), it is not necessary to stick to the same old position.”
The 10 conditions laid down by the BJP include “immediate suspension of peace process with Pakistan and stern anti-terrorism law that ensures expeditious trial and conviction both of terrorists and those who assist them.”
The party has also sought the government’s commitment to enable other states to expeditiously enact similar laws, implying an undertaking to clear Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s GUJCOCA and similar laws enacted by other BJP-ruled states.
It has also offered conditional support for federal security and investigative agency only if it was accompanied by “a comprehensive federal security law”. “Otherwise,” Arun Shourie said: “You can’t have a federal agency without federal law in India.”
