L.K. Advani

Guwahati, July 5: L.K. Advani today accused the Congress of being lax in dealing with terrorism and influx from across the border. He said the two were the most important issues concerning the security of the Northeast and the nation.

The BJP president was addressing a party rally at Sonaram here when his trip to the Northeast was cut short and he rushed back to Delhi in the wake of the terrorist attack in Ayodhya.

Advani said the Congress governments, at the Centre as well as in the state, were not according as much importance to the issues as they ought to. ?At times I don?t understand how the Congress can be so complacent and blind to the threat posed by unabated infiltration from across the border. It is a question of the nation?s security and integrity,? he said. ?It is votebank politics which makes the Congress ignore the problems.?

The BJP supremo said infiltration should not be linked to ?creed or religion.? ?When we raise this issue we are dubbed communal. The problem should not be viewed in that light. It is a serious issue pertaining to the nation?s security and integrity,? he said.

Taking potshots at Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi without naming him, Advani said even West Bengal chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee has, of late, realised the threat posed by infiltration and ISI activities in West Bengal, but Assam continued to ignore the threat. ?Realisation has come in West Bengal, but it is yet to dawn on Assam.?

On talks with the Ulfa, he said the BJP welcomed dialogues with the militant group but the nation?s sovereignty could not be compromised. ?India will not accept that.?

He added that terrorism was more than a mere law-and-order problem to be dealt with by the state alone. ?A co-ordinated effort between the Centre and the affected states is needed in dealing with the menace,? he said.

He termed the overall situation in Assam as ?bhainkar (dangerous)? with rampant corruption plaguing public life. The BJP, he said, was according top-most priority to the Assam Assembly elections.