Two BJP chief ministers have taken strong exception to the UPA Government’s decision of not including terrorism in the agenda of the National Integration Council (NIC) meeting to be held on Monday. They have shot letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard.

While Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said the decision showed that the Central Government was not serious about national security and unity in the face of recurrent terrorist attacks, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasudhara Raje accused the Manmohan Government of being “hostage to votebank politics”.

According to a press release, Modi has also objected to having received the agenda details only on Friday evening, along with other chief ministers, which did not give sufficient time to prepare for the meeting.

The Gujarat CM claimed that terrorism was proving to be the biggest challenge to the country, and the security of the innocent citizens was the topmost priority of the Centre as well as state governments. He said he had taken up the issue of forming a strategic plan with the Prime Minister on several occasions, requesting him to convene an urgent meeting of the NIC. While an NIC meeting was being convened, terrorism should be the focal agenda, as it was a proxy war, he added.

Hinting at some hidden agenda, he questioned why suddenly the topic of terrorism had been removed from the agenda.

Modi also pointed out that while the NIC’s brief was the country’s security and unity, the brief of the National Development Council (NDC) was the country’s development. This time, however, the agenda of NIC and NDC was the same, he added.

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