Now,Advani says can’t rule out local hand in 26/11

Advani’s remarks are sure to stir a controversy,given that Pakistan had tried to use Modi’s talk of ‘local support’ in the Mumbai attacks to buttress its stand in the case.

Advani said his party had extended all cooperation to the ruling alliance on enacting anti-terror legislations ‘even when I was not happy with the provisions therein’.

“It’s strange that we cannot use the confessions of Kasab against him (as per the new law). I’m told provisions of MCOCA are being used to make his confessions admissible in the court of law. Is that so? If yes,why could they not include this provision (of making confessions admissible in a court of law) in the new anti-terror law?”

He also wondered why the UPA Government waited until the Mumbai attacks before enacting new anti-terror laws.

The BJP leader also took the Government to task on two issues where the Supreme Court had made specific interventions — the hanging of Afzal Guru and Bangladeshi infiltration. The infiltration in Assam ‘could create conditions of a second partition’,Advani said.

While questioning government silence on a visiting British dignitary (Foreign Secretary David Miliband) linking the terror issue to Kashmir,he reminded the House of one of its past reolutions saying that PoK was legitimately India’s.

The BJP leader also accused the Government of fiddling with the autonomy of institutions like the CBI and the Election Commission,indicating that these may become poll issues for the BJP.

Moving on to economic issues,Advani said the outlook under this government was grave. “The cases of farmers committing suicide were commonplace earlier. What if job losses turn into a trend of mass suicides in the country?” he said.