New
Delhi, December 13
The daredevil suicide terrorist attack on the country’s highest
legislative body in the forenoon here today appears to have spurred the
BJP-led NDA government to take the battle to the perpetrators of
cross-border terrorism. Considering the hardening of approach in the
higher echelons of the political leadership, impartial observers here
believe it might not be long before the government adopts a pro-active
strategy aimed at nullifying the nurseries of terrorism.
The numbing
impact of targeting the very foundations of India’s democratic system
compelled Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to assure the nation that
the battle against terrorism has entered the last phase. Reaffirming the
government’s resolve of accepting the challenge and dealing with the
menace of terrorism “decisively”, the Prime Minister stressed “there
should be no doubt on this count.”
In a brief but unambiguous
message to the nation within hours of the terrorist outrage in the
national Capital, Mr Vajpayee observed, “The attack was not on
Parliament, but on the entire nation. We have been fighting terrorism
for the last two decades and the do-or-die battle is in the final
stages.”
He said, “We accept the challenge and we will blunt every
attack.” As always in times of crises, Mr Vajpayee declared, “India
is united and will fight terrorism unitedly.”
The Prime Minister
paid tributes to the security personnel and others who were killed by
the gunmen. As a mark of respect to those who made the supreme
sacrifice, he cancelled the iftar get-together scheduled for this
evening.
Mr Vajpayee has been to several major world Capitals over the
past five weeks and apprised their leaders of the volatile situation
prevailing in the subcontinent because of Pakistan’s intransigence in
continuing to aid and abet cross-border terrorism.
He has maintained that India has shown tremendous restraint and its patience is running out after having faced the brunt of terrorist violence for two decades.
Squarely
laying the blame at Pakistan’s door, he has said it is for Islamabad
to create a conducive atmosphere for resuming the bilateral dialogue.
However, New Delhi has not found anything on the ground to even remotely
suggest that Islamabad is making any effort to stop cross-border
terrorism.
India was in the vanguard after the September 11 airborne terrorist strikes in New York and Washington to extend support to the USA in the war against international terrorism.
Certain
thinktanks in the USA have described India as Washington’s “key ally”
in the continuing war against international terrorism. They pointed out
that after the September 11 attacks in the USA, India provided America
with intelligence on the location of more than 120 terrorist training
camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
These thinktanks have emphasised
that President George Bush should accord “high priority to cultivating
closer ties with India — a democratic state in the very region in
which the most serious terrorist threats are based.” Mr Vajpayee, who
was informed about the terrorist attack on Parliament at his official
residence by Union Home Minister L.K. Advani, briefed President K.R.
Narayanan over the telephone about the developments and the measures
taken by the government to beef up security in Delhi.
