Alleging Pakistan hand in stone-pelting and law and order problem in Kashmir, BJP on Thursday demanded that the government should "shed all confusion" and adopt a tough approach to deal with terrorism and Naxalism.
"It seems that the UPA government is clueless and confused on the strategy to fight terrorism. BJP demands a tough approach, which is need of the hour against all kinds of terrorism -- be it a Naxal challenge in the heartland or a challenge from separatists in Kashmir valley," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.
He said increase in activities of Naxals and separatists was a matter of deep concern. Government leaders speaking in different voices was weakening the fight, he claimed.
Javadekar accused Pakistan of sponsoring stone-pelting by protestors in Kashmir.
"Pakistan is involved in stone-pelting. Stones are brought in trucks with each truckload costing Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200. Boys are paid Rs 500 each for pelting stones. This is a low cost, high impact strategy being used by terrorist groups whose middle level leadership was liquidated by forces," he said. Javadekar alleged that separatists also decide where the stones are to be thrown.
The BJP MP further claimed that separatists in Kashmir had spent Rs 50 crore on stone-throwing.
"Attacking security forces creates fear which facilitates extortion. It not only creates panic but also terror in the minds of people. Government should give powers to security forces to take decisions based on the ground situation," he said.
BJP maintained that the security forces were fighting with their "hands tied" as the government was telling them to practise restraint and human rights activists were threatening action.
Javadekar maintained that the security forces were not only facing attacks from terrorists and separatists (he referred to photographs of a CRPF jawan being beaten up) but also from human rights activists.
"There is a constant fear of arrest for false, motivated and pre-meditated allegations of human rights violations," Javadekar said, adding that in the past five years 98 per cent of such charges had been proved false.
The Rajya Sabha MP asked the government to show political will to combat this challenge to the "sovereignty of the country".
"Government should not try to pass on the responsibility of fighting this menace on the state governments. In both Kashmir and the fight against Naxals, the confusion is at the Central government level. There is a need for a unified approach and command to mitigate the challenge." PTI
