Expressing concern over the growing terrorist activity in the country, BJP president Rajnath Singh said on Thursday that the Centre should immediately take diplomatic steps to put Pakistan’s ISI on international watch. “The existence of more than 5,000 sleeper modules operated by ISI is a clear indication that India is sitting on a tinder box,” he said.

Speaking to the media in Hyderabad, he alleged that ISI-sponsored terrorism was thriving in the country due to the “UPA Government’s failure to take stringent action to curb terrorism, succumbing to vote bank politics”. The serial blasts in Jaipur were the handiwork of ISI-backed terrorist organisations, he said.

Meanwhile, the BJP has asked the Centre to convene a meeting of chief ministers to evolve a joint strategy on terror. Addressing the media in Delhi, party spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad demanded an early re-introduction of POTA. However, he didn’t support the Congress’s demand for a federal agency to fight the terror network in the country. “The party will give its opinion when the Centre comes out with a structured proposal,” he said to the demand which was originally mooted by L K Advani.

“During the NDA regime, there were five major terror attacks in the hinterland. In the last three years, there have been 22. On an average, 2,500 terrorists were killed every year from 1999 to 2003. The figure is now down to about 1,185,” he added.

He also asked the UPA Government to share intelligence information with states “irrespective of the political divide”.

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