PUNE: Saluting the policemen who combated terrorists in Mumbai recently, former bureaucrat Avinash Dharmadhikari on Thursday said the Mumbai cops, sans political interference, were capable of uprooting all terrorist activities within a month.
The Mumbai police is much better than even the Scotland Yard, Dharmadhikari said while addressing a rally hosted by the Chanakya Mandal on the Shaniwarwada lawns to pay homage to those martyred in the terror attacks.
Paying rich tributes to Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar, Dharmadhikari also recalled the heroics of the ordinary policemen carrying .303 rifles who faced the terrorists armed with AK-47s. Their heroism will inspire the coming generations, Dharmadhikari said.
Flaying the political leadership for failing to tackle terrorism, Dharmadhikari stressed that there should be no compromises with terrorists and they should be dealt with a firm hand. Although terrorists strike terror in the name of religion, there can be no religion to terrorism, Dharmadhikari said while castigating the government for adopting a soft approach towards terrorists because of ‘vote bank politics.’
He cited the example of Afzal Guru who has still not been executed though held guilty by the Supreme Court in the December 12, 2001 Parliament attack case.
Dharmadhikari, meanwhile, put forth five demands, asking the government to take a decision on the Afzal Guru issue, to expedite the trials of all arrested terrorists, to destroy terrorists’ camps on the Pakistani soil, if the neighbouring nation does not do it on its own, to press the Pakistani and Bangladeshi governments to hand over terrorists who have taken refuge in their countries, and to set up a state-of-the-art machinery with people’s participation to combat terrorism.
Dharmadhikari said a signature campaign would be launched in support of these demands and the same would be submitted to the district collectorate authorities, after taking out a silent ‘morcha’ on December 16 from Shaniwarwada on the occasion of ‘Vijay Diwas.’
On the occasion, the participants also resolved that they would not bow down to terrorism in any form. “We will cooperate with the government and the administration in tackling terrorism. But, if the government is found wanting in discharging its responsibilities, we will launch a struggle against the government,” the participants further resolved.