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Advani for national policy
on kidnapping, blackmail

In the backdrop of Supreme Court's strictures against handling of the Rajkumar hostage crisis by Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Union Home Minister L K Advani Monday said he would request Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to convene a meeting of chief ministers to chalk out a "consensus" on handling cases related to kidnapping and blackmail.

"I will discuss the matter with the prime minister once he returns from Bombay and request him to convene a meeting of the chief ministers so that the country is well-equipped with a national policy to face the challenges of kidnapping and blackmail," he told reporters after attending the 16th Raising Day function of the National Security Guard.

The proposed national policy need not be a piece of legislation, Advani said.

"Yeh (the policy) kanoon nahi hoga, lekin sabki gyat se hoga (It will not be a legislation but will be drawn up with consensus)," he said.

Earlier, in his address to NSG officials and jawans, Advani said the government's "pro-active" steps in fighting the "proxy war" during last year have yielded results.

Making a veiled attack on Pakistan for its continued support to "cross-border terrorism," Advani said the phenomenon has assumed ominous dimension as a "global threat."

Several countries today believe that cross-border terrorism is no longer an "offence against any particular country, it is a crime against humanity," he said. Vajpayee government's campaign to expose this globally has been quite successful.

A world- wide opinion has been generated today and many countries are coming forward in setting up joint working groups with India to tackle the menace, he said.

"We have such groups with Israel, the United States and the UK, and will have similar panels soon with Germany and Russia," he said asserting "these will definitely show result."

Maintaining that fighting an open battle like Kargil was far more easier than a proxy war where one had to identify and fight a hidden enemy, Advani said the NDA government's performance in this regard (tackling proxy war) during last year has been satisfactory.

Applauding security forces for successfully fighting cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, he said by September this year, a record 222 militants had been killed.

Making a special mention of the NSG in the service of the nation, he said: "NSG is like a model to all of us concerned with country's security."

PTI

The Rajakumar Abduction: complete coverage
The saga of Veerappan

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