Under fire from the Opposition BJP for the UPA Government’s dismal track record on terrorism, especially in the wake of the recent serial blasts in Jaipur, the ruling Congress looks set to get some talking heads to counter these charges with the Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) headed by Veerappa Moily deliberating on a new set of proposals to tackle terrorism.The ARC is discussing proposals to make a slew of changes in the National Security Act, aimed at increasing the Centre’s role in tackling terrorist incidents. At present, terrorism is part of the law and order responsibilities of the state and although the Centre does play a role, it needs to be strengthened in a federal set-up, say sources associated with the ARC. The proposals are being discussed at a time when there is a lot of consternation at the Centre over the delay in investigations into terror strikes and over intelligence gathering. National Security Advisor MK Narayanan is learnt to have conveyed his displeasure over these aspects to the heads of intelligence agencies. The growing perception in intelligence circles is that there is too much emphasis on technical intelligence that has resulted in the neglect of human intelligence.These developments came at a time when Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje accused the Centre of fobbing off about intelligence inputs. “They are like weather reports,” the CM said, adding intelligence inputs from the Centre never stated where or when any terror attack was suspected.
