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Terrorism and terror activities have no place in India and the central government is “very clear” in this regard, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said a day after the P20 meeting called for increased efforts “to deny terrorist groups safe haven, freedom of operations, movement and recruitment, as well as financial, material or political support.”
Birla’s statement assumes significance as the issue was raised in one of his 13 bilateral meetings with speakers of various nations on Saturday on the sidelines of the P20 summit, officials said, declining to be named.
“The position of the government is very clear in this regard. The Prime Minister has also said it in his statement. The government has made it clear that terrorism and terror activities have no place in India,” Birla said at a media briefing on Sunday. “It is a clear government policy… terrorism, be it of caste or religion … terrorism is terrorism, and no form of terror will find any support in India.”
The 9th summit of the P20, a meeting of legislative speakers of the G20 nations, was successful, producing a consensus statement while current geopolitical tensions such as the conflict between Israel and Gaza-based Hamas remained in the backdrop.
In his inaugural speech of the programme on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that “the world has realised terrorism in any part of the world, in any manifestation or for any reason, is an act against humanity.”
Calling for peace, Modi urged all parliaments and their representatives to come together against terrorism and pointed out that “the perpetrators of terror are taking advantage of the lack of global consensus on the definition of terrorism.”
“Now the world has started to realize how terrorism poses a grave threat to this world. Whichever part it might be, whatever might be the manifestation of the reasons and in whichever form, terrorism is against humanity. We have to continue to fight against terrorism,” Modi said, speaking in Hindi.
“This is the time for peace, brotherhood, this is the time for moving forward together, this is the time for everyone’s development and welfare. We have to end the crisis over global trust and move forward with a human-centric approach,” he added.
West Asia is gripped in spiraling violence following an attack by Hamas on southern Israel last weekend that killed 1,300 Israelis, mostly civilians. Hamas also took about 150 people hostage. In retaliation, the Israeli military has targeted the Hamas-ruled Palestinian enclave of Gaza, killing at least 1,400 people ahead of an expected ground invasion.
In his speech, Modi also mentioned, without naming Pakistan, how India emerged stronger from a spate of terror attacks, including one on its Parliament in 2001.
“As you know, India has been facing the issue of cross-border terrorism for decades. Terrorists have killed thousands of innocents in India. Near the new Parliament building, you will find the old Parliament building. About 20 years ago, terrorists had targeted our Parliament. You will be startled to know that Parliament was in session at that time,” he said.
On Sunday, Birla hailed the first P20 meeting in India as the most successful one and said, “48 representatives had come from 29 countries. In Indonesia (last P20 meeting), we couldn’t have a joint declaration. This year, we have a joint declaration.”
The sustainable development goals, digital public infrastructure and women-led development plans were well-received, Birla said, and P20 leaders spoke of collective action on these fronts. Referring to artificial intelligence and data security, Birla said that in the conference, some countries emphasized on reliable and responsible use of AI to protect privacy and data.
The P20 countries have agreed to form a group to enhance domain knowledge for legislative drafting, Birla said.
Saubhadra Chatterji is Deputy Political Editor at the Hindustan Times. He writes on both politics and policies.