By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : Under attack for the way internal security has been handled, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced that Government was considering further strengthening of the anti-terror law and said a suggestion was before it for setting up a central agency to assist states in investigation of terror strikes.
Citing the recent blasts in Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Delhi, Singh admitted that there were “still vast gaps in intelligence”.
“We are actively considering legislation to further strengthen the substantive anti-terrorism law in line with the global consensus on the fight against terrorism,” the Prime Minister said on Wednesday at the concluding day of the two-day Governor’s Conference being held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The Prime Minister rejected the opposition charge of being soft on terror. “There is no question of government being soft on terrorism.” He regretted that the public debate on terrorism has tended to be driven by politics and centre on certain laws enacted or repealed by different governments.
“Our Government has no fixed, inflexible or ideological view in this regard,” he said.
The Prime Minister referred to the ongoing debate relating to the procedural aspects of investigation and prosecution of terrorism related offences.
“Even this aspect is under consideration with the aim of identifying provisions which could be made to further strengthen the hands of the law enforcement agencies,” he said.
Simultaneously, this would help address apprehensions which led, first to the repeal of TADA, and later of POTA, he said, adding there are cross party views which cannot be ignored.