Laws 038; agencies

The Congress8217;s internal dilemma on whether to stick with its current home minister, Shivraj Patil, had come so embarrassingly out in the open for the UPA government that the change of subject must certainly have been welcome. On Tuesday the Administrative Reforms Commission, headed by Congress leader M. Veerappa Moily, submitted a report titled Combating Terrorism. Among its recommendations is the enactment of a new anti-terror law. The ARC has also suggested that a federal investigating agency be set up. Delivering fully on these recommendations could perhaps be difficult for the UPA, given that general elections are likely to be held within the next half year. But if this be a spur for the government to be more purposeful on internal security, it could not have been more timely.

The political pressure on the government to respond to national anxiety has been conveyed these past days in two main ways. Railway Minister Lalu Prasad chose the days after the Delhi blasts to go public with the lament that the home ministry was not adequately meeting its responsibilities on internal security. And soon after the Saturday terrorist strike, government and Congress 8220;sources8221; started humming about the possibility of a minister for internal security being appointed.

The legislative changes recommended by the Moily Commission differ sharply from Home Minister Patil8217;s repeated statements that the law of the land is enough to handle terrorism-related cases. But, after the Delhi blast, some Congress leaders have started arguing in favour of such a law. This internal debate can be an opportunity for the Congress. Changing course, whether on the division of labour in the home ministry, or investigative mechanisms, or on anti-terrorism legislation, can carry political costs. Doing so in the face of loud opposition is particularly daunting. But as these columns have argued in the past, the political cost of inaction can be especially high. A smart politician like Lalu Prasad, with a proven instinct for political expediency, is clearly seeing that. A debate now well begun is a chance for the government, if it is indeed up to it, to show how it will reform its record on internal security.