Government and the Opposition took pot shots at each other in the Lok Sabha during the debate on the new laws to tackle terror, even as the NDA extended its support to the ruling coalition on such measures because a ‘war’ has been launched against the nation.While CPI opposed the legislations – National Investigation Agency Bill and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill - its major Left Front partner CPM backed the measures.Initiating the debate, Leader of the Opposition L K Advani accused the Congress-led coalition of delaying tough steps to deal with terrorism despite the NDA's continuous demands and alleged that the government's ‘slumber’ has cost the country dearly.Taking digs at the Government during his hour-long speech, Advani cited the famous Hindi saying ‘subah ka bhula, sham ko wapas aye to use bhula nahin kahte’ (a person who has gone astray in the morning makes up for his folly by returning home in the evening)"."You have woken from the slumber of 'Kumbhakarna' of the last 7-8 years. I want you to accept that you were wrong and it was a mistake," he told the ruling coalition.Advani told the Congress that it has done a U-turn on the issue in the wake of the outrage caused by the Mumbai terror strikes and reminded the treasury benches that the BJP-led NDA has been a votary of strong anti-terror laws.Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said Congress had learnt from ‘experience’ but reminded Advani that the NDA government had been unable to curb terror acts despite having a strong law like POTA.Taking a swipe at the NDA, he said if they had not released Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar during the Kandahar hijacking, attack on Parliament would not have taken place.
