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Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his Bharatiya Janata Party colleagues are all set to dwell on the issue of terrorism, which will dominate the party's two-day national executive meeting starting on Friday with the caveat that the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) is in the best interests of the country.
"The prime minister will emphasize why POTO has been a timely anti-terrorist measure during the two-day meet, apart from discussing other relevant issues," pointed out BJP Lok Sabha MP Vijay Kumar Malhotra who arrived in Amritsar (Punjab) on Thursday afternoon.
"Critics of our party, who had accused us of chasing a chimera, now silently acknowledge that global terrorism is a real danger in today's world. Our party leaders will highlight why POTO became a necessity," he said.
He also indicated that the meet's political resolution will highlight the government's ongoing battle against terrorism, which the BJP feels it can play up during the impending assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttaranchal.
According to a senior BJP official, the party leadership is all charged up following intelligence reports that the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States had polarised the voters in Uttar Pradesh and that the voters of the majority community had swung towards the party.
Significantly, Union Home Minister L K Advani recently warned that people who mischievously sent 'white powder' to others in the mail in a bid to frighten them (under the bogey of anthrax) are liable to be hauled up under POTO.
Senior BJP leader J P Mathur indicated that the meet would rally behind the government in its efforts to crush terrorism in the country, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, apart from approving its participation in the ongoing global coalition against terrorism.
Some observers also believe that the terrorism issue may even relegate the Ram temple one into the background, if not bury it altogether.
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