Bharatiya Janata Party and various Hindu outfits that observed the 16 Coimbatore serial bomb blast anniversary on Friday demanded that the State Government grant permission to construct a memorial.
The party’s State president Pon Radhakrishnan told journalists that their demand for the memorial was to unite communities and prevent the recurrence of such terrorist acts. World over, if countries could permit memorials for war victims, why was the State Government not permitting a memorial for victims of terrorism, he asked and added that the memorial would be for all the 58 people who perished in the bomb blasts and that included 10 people from the minority community.
Condemning terror acts, Mr. Radhakrishnan said that people from all communities should come together to prevent terrorist activities. Asked about alliance, Mr. Radhakrishnan refused to comment saying the occasion was not the right one to discuss politics. According to the Coimbatore City Police, 1,006 people, including 13 women, representing the Bharatiya Janata Party, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Indu Makkal Katchi, Shiv Sena, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Hindu Front, Shiv Sena – Murugan faction, Hanuman Sena and Bharat Sena participated in the event, which they had banned. The police removed all the protestors from the scene – D.B. Road, R.S. Puram.
