It was claimed that the BJP will initiate the following measures within 100 days of coming to power:

• Revive the anti-terror mechanism that has been dismantled by the Congress; improve upon POTA to ensure it is more effective as an instrument of deterrence and a tool to prosecute offenders without innocent people being harassed; and, strengthen the operational role of the National Investigating Agency.

• Give assent to laws drafted by State Governments for dealing with organised crime and terrorism; encourage other State Governments to adopt similar laws.

• Launch a massive programme to detect, detain and deport illegal immigrants.

• Promotion of sports: Making youth healthy, competitive.

• Completely revamp the internal and external intelligence agencies and review the existing system of coordination, convergence and dissemination of intelligence inputs. A massive exercise will be undertaken to modernise intelligence agencies so that they are better equipped to use technology and cope with the rapidly changing trends and patterns of terrorism at home and abroad. The National Security Council will be made the hub of all sector-related assessments. It will be accountable for real-time intelligence dissemination; intelligence agencies will be held responsible for lapses. Appointments to intelligence agencies will be on merit and not because of political patronage as has been the system during the Congress years.

• A Digital Security Agency will be set up to deal with cyber warfare, cyber counterterrorism, and cyber security of national digital assets.

• State Governments will be provided with all assistance to modernise their respective police forces and equip them with the latest weaponry and communications technology. This will be done on a mission mode approach. The police are the first responders to any crisis situation. Drawing lessons from experience, police forces will be trained and fully equipped to deal with situations similar to that of Mumbai and in meeting the challenge posed by Maoists and insurgents.

• Border management will be reviewed and improved. Punitive measures will be introduced to block illegal immigration.

• India’s vast coastline is virtually unprotected. Coastal security will be strengthened for better patrolling of Indian waters and preventing terrorists from taking the sea route to enter India. A National Maritime Authority will be set up to coordinate coastal security.

• Facilitating inter-faith dialogue on the matter of religious conversions.

• Special courts will be set up for speedy prosecution of those involved with acts of terrorism. Their trial shall be fair and justice will be done to the victims swiftly.

• Coercive measures, including diplomacy, will be used to deal with countries which promote cross-border terrorism. India will engage with the world in the global war on terror while not compromising on its domestic interests, primarily protecting citizens from the ravages of terrorism.

• Commitment to good governance.

• The Centre will facilitate better inter-State coordination and real-time intelligence-sharing, apart from helping States to raise anti-insurgency forces, to face the threat posed by Maoists. The ‘Chhattisgarh Model’ will be used for counter-Maoist operations. At the same time, every effort will be made to address the social and economic issues that make the ground fertile for Left-wing extremism.

• Any talks with insurgent groups will be conditional and within the framework of the Constitution. The BJP will send out a simple message, loud and clear, to terrorists and their sponsors: They will have to pay a heavy price for each innocent life lost. Retribution will be swift and exemplary. The authority of the state, which has been diminished by the Congress in pursuit of vote-bank politics, shall be restored.