By IANS,
New Delhi : The Congress Wednesday sought to turn the tables on the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), saying its star leader L.K. Advani was responsible for home grown terrorism in the country.
“There is a need for a debate on communal terrorism in the country. The 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition was the first incidence of communal terrorism that laid the foundation for home grown terrorism,” Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said here.
“Home grown terrorism is nothing but the outcome of Advani’s and VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) leader Praveen Togadia’s communal politics,” Ahmed said.
The BJP Tuesday accused the central government of being soft on terror and of appeasing minorities and said this had encouraged “homegrown terrorism” in the country.
Opposing the BJP’s demand to bring back the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), Ahmed said: “It was a failed law, and cases of violence have come down after the central government decided to withdrew it.”
Corroborating the statement, Ahmed said data available with the home ministry showed that during the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime, 36,259 violent incidents were reported from across the country. This fell to 24,967 during the United Progressive Allaince period (2004-08).
“A total of 11,714 people died in these incidents during the NDA regime while the number during UPA’s period was 6,636,” Ahmed said.