Singh

New Delhi, Sept. 17: Manmohan Singh today admitted “vast gaps in intelligence” needed to be plugged but rejected charges his government was “soft” on terror.

The Prime Minister told a conference of governors at Rashtrapati Bhavan that a law to “further strengthen the substantive anti-terrorism law in line with the global consensus on the fight against terrorism” was on the cards.

Singh, however, appeared to cold-shoulder the proposal, raised forcefully in many quarters after the recent explosions, for an all-powerful central agency to fight terror, saying many bodies were engaged in the job.

The nub of the problem, he stressed, was “really one of examining the efficacy of the systems and the mechanisms that we have to deal with terrorist incidents”.

Singh decried the recent “outbursts centred on identity-based issues” and motivated by “partisan interests”, saying these led to “mindless destruction of public property”. These narrow agendas were not in national interest and “will hurt our progress”, he added.

In an allusion to the attacks on non-Marathis by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, he said: “When the world looks upon India as a rising power, the Indian state cannot be allowed to become so diminished that it cannot even protect public property.” He did not name the communities or the attackers.

A meeting of the National Integration Council will be held in October to reach a consensus on such divisive threats, he said, while regretting the fact that public debate on terrorism was often driven by politics and centred around laws enacted or repealed by governments of different political persuasions. This was seen as a veiled reference to the BJP’s campaign to bring back the repealed prevention of terrorism act or Pota.

He asserted that the Centre had “no fixed, inflexible or ideological view in this regard” and mentioned how it had taken the initiative to strengthen laws such as the prevention of money laundering act to choke terror funds.

Speaking on the series of recent blasts, Singh said while the role of Pakistan-based terror groups could not be minimised, the alleged involvement of local elements had added a new dimension to the threat. “We have reports that certain Pakistan-based terrorist outfits are seeking to set up new modules within our country. This is a matter of utmost concern. We have increased vigilance on our borders... but in view of the growing involvement of local elements, this is not enough,” he added.

Apart from overcoming the gaps in intelligence, the Prime Minister suggested the strength of police must be increased.

Among other steps, he said more attention needed to be paid to the Intelligence Bureau and state intelligence agencies. Public awareness about the blast threats and planting of explosives must be raised, more closed-circuit TVs should be used at gatherings and Internet traffic needed to be intercepted.

For the Prime Minister, it seemed the contentious issues in the debate on fighting terror were not laws (or lack of them) but “procedural aspects of investigation and prosecution”.

These provisions were being examined to strengthen law-enforcement and to address fears that had led to the repeal of Pota and its predecessor, Tada. Critics of both laws had said they were misused to harass minorities. Singh conceded, however, that the views of other parties could not be ignored.