A FORTNIGHT ago, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had heard Muslim leaders articulate the community's sense of insecurity after terror attacks in the country. On Tuesday, Singh echoed their concerns before chief ministers at an internal security conference and cautioned them to the "deleterious" consequences of this feeling for the country.
The thrust of the prime minister’s message to the states, including those ruled by the BJP, was that the best way to fight terrorism -- besides the police response - was by not creating an environ where terror elements would have nurseries of support.
Singh's call found an echo in Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's address. Azad spoke of ways to reduce harassment of Kashmiris in and out of the country. Gujarat's Narendra Modi, however, did not share this perspective. He argued that viewing terrorism from the mindset of communal harmony would encourage separatists and militants. Modi patted his own back for effectively “striking at the roots of terrorism”.
Before dwelling upon the political side of his two-pronged speech, the PM had shared with the chief ministers the government’s grave threat perception based on intelligence reports.
The PM told them these reports spoke of the possibility of more fidayeen attacks, use of suicide bombers, attacks on economic and religious targets and targeting of vital installations including nuclear establishments. “Reports also suggest that terrorist modules and ‘sleeper cells’ exist in some of our urban areas, all of which highlight the seriousness of the threat,” he said.
The PM told them these reports spoke of the possibility of more fidayeen attacks, use of suicide bombers, attacks on economic and religious targets and targeting of vital installations including nuclear establishments. “Reports also suggest that terrorist modules and ‘sleeper cells’ exist in some of our urban areas, all of which highlight the seriousness of the threat,” he said.