UPA vs NDA at NIC meet

The National Integration Council (NIC) meeting today, called in the wake of communal violence in Orissa and Karnataka and terrorist attacks in other parts of the country, virtually turned into a slanging match between the ruling UPA and the Opposition BJP-led NDA.

While Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his opening remarks, talked about careful handling of the situation arising out of terror attacks, the BJP leaders led by the Gujarat chief minister strongly pitched for a pan-India anti-terror law.

While BJP leader L K Advani did not attend the meeting, Modi and party chief Rajnath Singh defended Bajrang Dal and VHP as the UPA constituents mounted attack on these organisations for their alleged involvement in the anti-Christian violence in Orissa and Karnataka.

Terming both these organisations “nationalists”, Rajnath Singh said the BJP would oppose any move to liken them to the banned outfits like the SIMI.

The BJP also took the government to task for dithering on even including the issue of “terrorism” in the NIC agenda.

Sushma Swaraj told mediapersons that it was after the protests by BJP chief ministers that the government agreed to discuss “extremism”.

“We take strong exception to the UPA stand on terrorism. They are not even ready to distinguish between extremism, which is a homegrown sentiment, and terrorism, which is related to secession,” Swaraj said at the meeting.

The BJP also attacked the UPA government for conducting the NIC meeting in a “casual and non-serious manner”. The party leaders objected to the government not including Leader of Opposition L K Advani in the list of invitees to the NIC. Advani was invited in his capacity as eminent person, while Jaswant Singh, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, was not even invited to attend the meet. The NIC meeting was called after an interval of three-and-a-half years.