Rejecting Union Home Minister P Chidamabarm's claim that Pune blast was not an intelligence failure, BJP on Sunday asked the government not go ahead with "misconceived and adventurist steps" like resuming dialogue with Pakistan and rehabilitating militants returning from PoK.
The BJP Core Group held a meeting to discuss the blast in a German bakery in Pune last evening in which nine persons were killed. It said the government must introspect whether the intelligence collection and security responses are still inadequate.
"The government in the past few days has announced some misconceived and adventurist steps.....The BJP urges the government to reconsider both these steps -- allowing persons from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to return and resuming dialogue with Pakistan," Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley said. "Terror and talks cannot co-exist. When terror threatens India, 'not talking' is a legitimate diplomatic option," Jaitley said.
BJP has opposed the recent Indian initiative to begin Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan and accused the government of doing a U-turn though "nothing had changed" in the neighbour's attitude post-26/11.
"As long as the terror infrastructure in Pakistan is not dismantled and Pakistan does not stop sponsoring terror from its soil, composite dialogue should not resume," Jaitley said. He criticised the UPA government for not taking the "nation, Parliament or even the Congress" into confidence before deciding on resumption of dialogue.
BJP also opposed the government's proposal of allowing young Kashmiris who had gone to PoK for arms training but had a change of heart to return to India, arguing that this would "legimitise infiltration". "Government may have considered this under a policy of softening its borders but this is legitimising infiltration. Today's situation does not permit this," Jaitley said.
While condemning the Pune bomb blast, BJP said there was little doubt that this was a terrorist attack and the targeting of foreign nationals was intended to create an international impact.
"This blast establishes that those inimical to India are continuing their war against India. India is not and Indians will not accept India as a soft state," Jaitley said, adding, "The government of India must seriously introspect whether our intelligence collection and security responses are still inadequate."
He slammed the government for not taking enough security measures and leaving "unprotected" the blast area, which has a Jewish Chabad House and the Osho Ashram in the vicinity, despite knowing that David Coleman Headley had done a recce of the place. "What has happened in Pune is a grim reminder to all of us about the fragility of our security and the adventurist traps we are walking into," Jaitley said. PTI
