BJP hijacks anti-terror campaign8230;

He questioned the delay in the death sentence for Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. His name happens to be Afzal Guru. Had he been some Anand Singh or Anand Mohan he would have been hanged, Advani said.

On the sidelines of the event,Advani however condemned the attack on women at a Mangalore pub,saying,Its basically against Indian culture and ethos.

The initial enthusiasm of students who gathered for the event began flagging as leader after leader gave long speeches on countering terrorism. I came to learn how to help fight terrorism and got to hear political speeches. The most motivating talk was given by Major Sandeep Unnikrishnans father, a college student said as she left the venue with friends.

The father of the NSG commando who died battling terrorists during the 26/11 attack said his son had willingly taken on death. He told his mother he would lead from the front if an occasion arose, Unnikrishnan said.

He extolled students to be fearless and to consider careers in the defence forces.

The event organised under the leadership of state Higher Education Minister Arvind Limbavalli has been criticized by the Congress and the NSUI. The opposition has accused the BJP government of packing campaign committees for the programme with student leaders linked to the Sangh Parivar. There has also been criticism of the programme assuming a communal tenor instead of addressing terrorism as a universal problem.