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Saturday, Nov 24, 2007
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Centre asks States to step up vigilance

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: A nationwide high alert has been sounded in the wake of the serial blasts in Uttar Pradesh on Friday, Home Minister Shivraj Patil told the Lok Sabha.

Mr. Patil made the statement after demands from Leader of the Opposition, L.K. Advani. He said there was no information about the involvement of any group in the blasts.

Later, Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta told reporters that all States had been advised to step up vigilance. Mr. Gupta, who spoke to Uttar Pradesh Director-General of Police, said preliminary reports suggested that ammonium nitrate was used in the blasts in Lucknow and Faizabad.

Forensic teams sent

“The DGP has visited Lucknow and Faizabad and indications point to the use of ammonium nitrate. He will visit Varanasi later and only then something could be said about it,” he said adding that the Ministry was sending forensic teams to the sites of blasts.

The blasts came a week after the State police claimed to have smashed a terrorist network with the arrest of three Jaish-e-Mohamad activists who were planning to target VVIPs.

Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal has gone to Varanasi to make an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.

Ansari’s call

Condemning the blasts, Vice-President Hamid Ansari said that such acts of terrorism should be thwarted through ournational resolve to maintain peace and harmony and counter all disruptive forces. He expressed sympathy for the families of those killed and injured in the explosions.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi expressed shock and grief over the loss of innocent lives. She said such dastardly acts were a sign of cowardice and aimed at creating panic among people.

CPI(M)’s concern

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) said it was a matter of “grave concern” that terror elements were targeting courts, knowing fully well that a large number of people would be present there.

“No effort should be spared to unearth the conspiracy behind the dastardly acts of terror and punish the culprits. Intelligence agencies should be strengthened to uncover such nefarious designs and take preventive action,” the party’s Polit Bureau said in a statement.

Blaming the Union government for the blasts, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the government’s soft policies had failed to check the spread of the menace of terrorism.

Party president Rajnath Singh, who is to visit the blast sites on Saturday, said: “The terrorists have become bolder. The situation is now a matter of deep concern.”

Senior party leader Sushma Swaraj told reporters that beginning with Mumbai train blasts, a number of serial blasts had taken place, which point to gross intelligence failure. “We want the government to place all facts before Parliament.”

Grave threat: CPI

CPI leader D. Raja said fundamentalism and terrorism of any shade posed a grave threat to the unity and harmony of the country.

“Such blasts are taking place in other cities like Hyderabad. It raises serious question about the coordination between the Centre and States in matters of intelligence gathering and coordination,” he said.

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