The Centre has rejected the demand for re-enacting a Prevention of Terrorist Activities-type law and made it clear that it will not force the idea of an investigating agency for federal crimes on states.
Intervening in a debate on Wednesday in the Lok Sabha on an Opposition-sponsored adjournment motion over the government's failure to contain terrorism on Wednesday in the Lok Sabha, Union Home Minister said draconian laws like POTA were only instrumental in creating more terrorists rather than containing terrorism.
Patil's speech, which was marred by repeated interventions by Opposition members, said that terror strikes took place during the period when POTA was in force.
Earlier, Leader of the Opposition L K Advani, while asking the government not to follow appeasement policy towards minorities, said 10 major terror attacks took place across the country during the last two years, including the Mumbai serial train blasts which he equated with September 11, 2001 strikes in the United States.
The government failed on three fronts preventing these attacks, investigating these properly and ensuring judicial punishment of the culprits, Advani said.
Patil said his government was not averse to setting up a federal investigating agency and declaring some crimes as federal laws, but only after a consensus was built in Parliament and with all the states.
The home minister said there were differences of opinion on the issue of setting up a federal investigating agency to tackle crimes like terrorism and some states expressed reservation over the proposal. "We don't want to force anything on states," he said.
Patil asked all the state government's to expand their police forces to ensure proper law and order situation, a necessity for investment of funds.
He emphasised the strengthening of special branches in the police forces in all states so that intelligence about the nefarious designs of the anti-national elements was properly utilised.
He informed the House that the Andhra Pradesh government was going to lay a special emphasis on strengthening its state apparatus for gathering intelligence.
The state government had been successful in tackling the menace of Naxalism from villages and its focus was now on urban areas, a place for terror strikes, he said.
Accusing the Centre of failing to contain terrorism, Mohammed Salim (Communist Party of India-Marxist) said authorities should refrain from blaming any group for the blasts when investigations were yet to be completed.
Mohan Singh (Samajwadi Party) said the Centre failed to check terrorism. Referring to Andhra Pradesh, he said most security force personnel had either been deployed to tackle Naxalites or to provide security to VIPs. As a result, general public was not getting adequate security.
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