Congress ally Samajwadi Party took an unusually strident position setting “a 15-day deadline” for the UPA to take “concrete measures on the ground.” National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah went a step further, advocating “specific action” against terror camps being run in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. But this view was not shared by the majority present there who intervened to say that Islamabad itself was wracked by terror and turmoil and any “misadventure” could backfire.

The Opposition BJP demanded “an immediate Parliament session” and said that the UPA Government’s “non-serious approach” was evident “as it failed to mention Pakistan’s name” in the summing up of the proceedings by the PM.

The Congress, too, stressed the need for “firm anti-terror laws” — party president Sonia Gandhi said in the end that the “party’s commitment in this regard is well known”. Earlier, in a meeting of its partners, Pranab Mukherjee had called for a “unified UPA response” in the face of a barrage of charges from the Opposition.

The Left, led by CPM general secretary Prakash Karat, referring to the post-9/11 “UN Security Council Resolution against terrorism (1373) — that no country would allow its land to be used for activities against any other country — said that the Mumbai attacks should be raised in the UN, an argument that found favour with many.

The proceedings began with an introductory speech by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in which he called for a federal agency to fight terror and four nodal points in the country to station NSG forces. This was followed with presentations by the new Home Minister P Chidambaram and Mukherjee who said that he was in constant touch with his Pak counterpart.

The Opposition, however, would have none of it, with leaders like RLD’s Ajit Singh advocating a “tit-for-tat” policy while CPI general secretary A B Bardhan said that not only the National Security Advisor, all officials responsible for internal security should also be made to own up and shown the door.

BJP’s Jaswant Singh and V K Malhotra reiterated the need for a law stronger than POTA and said that the government’s call for “a consensus” on anti-terror measures meant nothing “when it was not serious.” Trinamool Congress’s Dinesh Trivedi said that the “entire system was rotten” while Mulayam Singh Yadav added “questions were being asked about the political class in the country.”

LJP’s Ram Vilas Paswan said difference should be made between “Pakistani terrorists” and “Pak-sponsored terrorists.” SP’s Amar Singh said that Vilasrao Deshmukh’s seriousness in tackling terror was evident when he chose to visit the terror-ravaged Taj along with film director Ram Gopal Verma and actor-son Reitesh Deshmukh. The director has said that his presence was a “mere coincidence.”

The meeting saw heated exchanges when Lalu Prasad, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan accused the BJP of “maligning the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad” and its chief Hemant Karkare who fell to a terrorist’s bullet. To which Malhotra said that the “ATS was too pre-occupied with the so-called Hindu terror” a reason why “cross-border conspirators had managed to launch an audacious anti-India operation”.

CPM’s Sitaram Yechury asked the BJP if it would sign the joint statement if the word “Pakistan” was included in it. This put the BJP on the defensive. The party demanded an immediate Parliament session to which Mukherjee said that a session had already been convened on December 10.

MNS’s Raj Thackeray came under severe criticism for his divisive anti-North Indian propaganda in Mumbai at the meet. Yechury pointed out to a larger problem confronting the Indian media — the US media had acted with utmost restraint in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, he said, adding that the media here could have shown more responsibility in covering the tragedy. This concern was shared by the PM.