Blaming the Mumbai blasts on the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), former deputy prime minister LK Advani today said the UPA must revive the Act if it was ‘‘serious’’ about combating terrorism.

Addressing a gathering here, Advani said his party would support the Congress-led government at the Centre if it took steps to revive the special law introduced by the NDA after assuming power among other measures. He said a few more political parties also supported the demand.

Pota, he said, had incorporated all safeguards suggested by the Supreme Court while pronouncing its opinion on TADA. He said TADA was not anti-Muslim, and, claimed that in Gujarat, it was used against farmers, especially those of the BJP’s Bharatiya Kisan Sangh.

Welcoming the government’s decision to postpone secretary-level talks with Pakistan, Advani said the PM should mobilise opinion at the G-8 meet to force Pakistan to dismantle the terrorism infrastructure on its soil. ‘‘Pakistan won’t be able to ignore pressure from the US or UK,’’ he said, claiming Pakistan was getting emboldened because it saw the UPA government as weak, given the repeated threats from its coalition partners like the Communists.

Advani added that the NDA government had a dual policy on Pakistan: make sustained efforts to find durable peace and ensure that there was no compromise on terrorism. ‘‘We sent Musharraf back from Agra because he described terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir as a freedom struggle,’’ he said. ‘‘And yet, the NDA government succeeded in making Musharraf publicly commit that Pakistan wouldn’t allow its territory to be used for terrorist activities.’’ On the home front, Advani dared the prime minister to announce elections. ‘‘If the voter gets a chance to vote, the UPA government will collapse,’’ he said, referring to the price hike and farmers’ suicides.