Don146;t politicise war on terror, says RSS

With the BJP engaged in a full-blown war of words with the Congress on terror in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, the RSS sounded a word of caution, saying that 8220;discourse on terror must transcend narrow political considerations.8221;

With the BJP engaged in a full-blown war of words with the Congress on terror in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, the RSS on Monday sounded a word of caution, saying that 8220;discourse on terror must transcend narrow political considerations.8221; The BJP, after a brief show of unity, has gone hammer and tongs at the Congress for its 8220;inept handling of the Mumbai terror attack8221;.

In his statement on Monday, RSS second-in-command Mohan Bhagwat said: 8220;Major attitudinal and systemic changes have to be brought in in the wake of the Mumbai terror attack. I hope that the discourse on terrorism would hereafter transcend narrow political consideration and the nation will demonstrate

maturity and sincerity to deal with this threat.8221;

While the BJP failed to mention Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad chief Hemant Karkare in its official statement last week one-third of the twelve-odd leaders present in the office-bearers8217; meeting were said to be against the inclusion of Karkare8217;s name, the RSS leader in his statement said: 8220;It is very saddening that more than 200 people have lost their lives. A good number of security personnel were also martyred. Those killed include many eminent people and senior police and security officials. I appeal to all patriotic citizens to organise public programmes to pay homage to victims of Mumbai terror and to express solidarity with those who are fighting this terror valiantly.8221;

While Gujarat CM Narendra Modi had visited Karkare8217;s residence 8212; where his offer of help was spurned by the family- the BJP has not planned anything similar. The party has, however, reiterated its call for a strong anti-terror law, 8220;that alone would make the idea of a federal agency, being mooted by the Government, effective in tacking terror.8221; 8220;If this is India8217;s 9/11, our response, too, should match what the US response to the attacks was,8221; said party general secretary Arun Jaitley on Monday.