BJP's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani on Saturday said the UPA government woke up to enact new laws to combat terror only after the bloody Mumbai attacks.
Wooing voters at an election rally in Jammu, he slammed the Manmohan Singh government for scrapping POTA which, he said, was a stringent law to curb terrorism.
It was only after the Mumbai carnage that the Centre had taken steps to deal with the scourge, Advani said.
It was the bounden duty of the government to act tough against terror activities and ensure safety and security of its citizens, the BJP stalwart said.
Referring to the terror strike on Parliament, the Leader of the Opposition said the government was yet to carry out the death sentence on Afzal Guru, the mastermind of the attack.
India was already suffering from the proxy war launched by the neighbouring country, he said.
This low intensity war was first witnessed in Punjab, then it spilled over to Jammu and Kashmir and now it had spread across the country, the BJP leader said.
Even former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had said the terror menace could endanger other countries also, he said adding this proved true when America was attacked.
Within three weeks of terror attacks in Mumbai that shook the nation, Parliament on Thursday gave its nod to the setting up of a National Investigation Agency.
It also provided more teeth to the law to combat terror that had claimed hundreds of lives in India this year.