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A cowardly act: Sonia

NEW DELHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, the Left parties and the former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, have condemned the Bangalore serial blasts.

Condemning the blasts, Ms. Gandhi said it was a “cowardly act” by those who wanted to disturb the peace in the country, particularly the southern region.

Mr. Patil said the Ministry was in close touch with the Karnataka government. “Such incidents will not deter the government from pursuing its policy of dealing with anti-national elements in a resolute manner,” he said in a statement.

An agency report from Kanpur quoted Minister of State for Home Shriprakash Jaiswal as saying that the Centre had forewarned the Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh governments that terrorists could target Bangalore and Hyderabad.

“The Intelligence Bureau had received inputs that terrorists could target the cyber cities of Hyderabad and Bangalore. Both the State governments were told to be on high alert,” he said. The Minister said the aim of the Bangalore blasts was to “spread terror.”

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) said the pattern indicated that it was an attempt by terrorists to disrupt life in the city.

“Coming soon after the Jaipur blasts, it confirms that terrorist groups are still active. It is a matter of deep concern that the Central government has so far failed to uncover the network behind these nefarious activities. It is high time the intelligence and security agencies tracked down the culprits,” the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said in a statement.

Describing the blasts as a “sinister attempt to disturb communal harmony and to destabilise our society,” the Communist Party of India called upon the State people to maintain peace and tranquillity. It demanded a thorough probe to nab the culprits. Party’s national secretary and MP D. Raja will visit the sites of the blasts on Saturday.

Condemning the blasts as “inhuman act,” Mr. Gowda said it was natural that the enemies of the nation wanted to target Bangalore owing to its cosmopolitan nature and its emergence as the symbol of the nation’s progress.

He urged the Centre and the State government to sink their party differences and unitedly combat the “scourge of terrorism, which has become a threat to India’s survival as a nation.”

Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh said the attack underlined the threat that all Indians continued to face.

A terror attack could not be dismissed as a mere law and order problem. The Centre was yet to come to grips with the problem and chalk out an elaborate and integrated action plan to deal with the danger.

Mr. Singh expressed his sympathies to the families of the woman killed and injured.

Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa gave Mr. Singh an account of what happened. He also told the latter that he had called a Cabinet meeting to discuss the situation.

Tiruchi Special Correspondent writes:

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said the blasts were the handiwork of anti-national forces. “Targeting Bangalore is also a signal that the development and growth of the country was sought to be disrupted. We unequivocally condemn the blasts,” he told reporters in Tiruchi.

He appealed to the city people not to fall prey to the provocative actions of anti-national forces. Peace has to be maintained in the face of attempts to terrorise people and create anarchy.

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