The Madhya Pradesh [Images] police has intensified its vigil on the activities of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India and so far, it has arrested 43 activists, state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in Katni on Friday.

"Terrorism [Images] is the biggest problem confronting the nation at present and the state police, besides intensifying its vigil on the activities of the banned organisation, has also arrested its 43 activists so far from different parts of the state," Chouhan told reporters.

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The chief minister arrived in Katni as part of his ongoing' Janashirvad Yatra' in the state, which reached Katni late on Thursday night amid heavy rains. He also addressed a party rally on the occasion.

To a question, he said that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government has miserably failed in tackling the growing menace of terrorism in the country and insisted that laws like the Prevention Of Terrorism Act is necessary for dealing with the monster of terrorism.

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He said that the state government has constituted an Anti Terrorist Squad to deal with the problem in the state. Responding to a query, Chouhan said that the major poll plank of his government will be the development works carried out under the Bharatiya Janata Party rule.

On the issue of attacks on churches in the state, especially the incident in Jabalpur on Thursday night, he said, "it was unfortunate."

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