The Lok Sabha on Tuesday condemned the bomb blast at the Delhi High Court and said the entire nation is resolute and united in the fight against terrorism.
Expressing grief at the death and injuries to several people in the blast, members cutting across party lines asked the government to take all necessary measures to track down and bring the culprits to book.
“We hope the government will use all agencies and means to bring the culprits to book..... This is significant that the attack happened near Parliament. We are saddened that the capital of India has been attacked again,” NDA Working President L K Advani said after Home Minister P Chidambaram made a statement in the House.
Observing that the blast occurred two days before the 10th anniversary of 9/11 terror attacks in the US, he wondered if there was a connection as terrorists tend to think on these lines.
“My suggestion is that keeping in mind this incident the government should take all necessary measures to bring the culprits to book,” Mr. Advani said.
Basudeb Acharia (CPI(M)) termed the blasts a “disturbing act” and said two explosions have taken place at the same site within a span of four months. There was a low intensity blast at the Delhi High Court in July.
While expressing his condolences, Acharia said the entire nation is united and resolute to fight terrorism.
“Terrorists have no religion. They are out to divide and destabilise the nation. There is a need for united action against them,” Mr. Acharia said, hoping that every step will be taken to fight terror.
Expressing support to the government in the fight against terror, Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP) said, “Whenever there is a terror act, a particular community is looked at with suspicion. This is not good. It should stop. It is dangerous. It has happened several times and this still continues.”
He also asked the government to grant financial assistance and jobs to the aggrieved families.
Sharad Yadav (JD-U) condemned the blast and expressed concern that it had occurred just a kilometre from Parliament and despite all precautions.
Asserting that the nation would not succumb such acts and face the challenge head-on, Mr. Yadav asked the government to consult experienced people in Parliament.
He also asked the government to seek information from people like cleaners, vendors and coolies, saying explosives are planted in dustbins and trains and such people could be a useful source of inputs to track down the culprits.
Earlier, when the House met for the day, Speaker Meira Kumar condemned the blasts as a dastardly act and had asked the government to make a statement before adjourning the House till 12:30 PM. Condemning the blast outside the Delhi High Court, BJP and Left parties today said the Government should explain to the people whether there was an intelligence failure.
BJP spokesperson Ravishankar Prasad described the incident as a “great pain, great agony and great distress.”
“We out rightly condemn it. Why is the government not taking action? The incident has happened right in the heart of the capital, adjacent to India Gate and outside a gate of the Delhi High Court. There is no security and there is no intelligence beef-up,” he told reporters.
He said the blast was “deeply regrettable” and said the government should answer how many innocent civilians would have to die in the country due to terrorist attacks.
“Terrorists come with impunity and kill people with impunity,” he said.
CPI National Secretary D Raja said the party “strongly condemns” the blast and asked the government to explain why such terror attacks keep happening in the country.
“The government should initiate a thorough probe into the incident and they should say whether it was a failure of the intelligence agencies or failure of the policy adopted by it with regard to terror,” he said.
“The government should answer. No person involved in such attacks should go scot-free. I think there is a failure on the part of the government particularly the Home Ministry,” he said.
Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy demanded that Home Minister P Chidambaram resign in the wake of the incident.
“The UPA Government has failed to formulate a counter-terrorist strategy. I also demand that the Prime Minister cancel his visit to Bangladesh forthwith,” he said.
Expressing concern over the bomb blast outside the Delhi High Court, DMK Chief M Karunanidhi on Tuesday said the country’s capital “should not remain unprotected”.
“India’s capital should not remain unprotected,” the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said, recalling that an attack had taken place on Parliament itself in December 2001.
“It is painful to hear and read about such incidents happening in Delhi,” Mr. Karunanidhi told reporters, reacting to the blast, which left nine dead and at least 50 injured.
