Shimla: Differing with Gujarat counterpart Narinder Modi, Himachal chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal stated before media on Friday that at this juncture when an attack on the national integrity has been launched by terrorist forces, hands of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh need to be strengthened.
The chief minister went on to say that a move for hot pursuit indicated by the prime minister in his address to the nation on Thursday would be welcome by the whole nation.
He said that BJP was always for a stringent anti terrorist law like POTA for curbing the activity.
The Mumbai terror attack was a warning to security forces, intelligence agencies and the citizens to remain alert to their surroundings.
Reports are indicating that the build up for launching the attack took months and it is surprising that nobody got a whiff of it though the armed forces seem to have apprised the government about the possibility of terrorists taking the sea route to conduct an operation like the one the nation is witnessing, said Dhumal.
The chief minister was responding to a question in which it was pointed out that the Gujarat chief minister Narinder Modi had described the Prime Ministers address to the nation on Thursday as extremely disappointing and not forceful enough.
Dhumal said that there would be other occasions to criticize the UPA government about it attitude towards terrorism, but at this hour the nation needs to back the prime minister.
The chief minister said that the discussion at the National Integration Council needed to be widened and states needed to be taken into confidence on internal security and anti-terrorist measures.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads the team of media professionals at Hill Post.
In a career spanning over two decades through all formats of journalism in Electronic, Print and Online Media, he brings with him enough experience to steer this platform. He lives in Shimla.
