Political parties condemn blasts; urge govt to take action

New Delhi, Aug 26 (UNI) Political parties today condemned the horrific twin blasts in Hyderabad last evening, which took over 40 lives, and urged the government to take stern action against those responsible for this heinous crime.

Leader of the Opposition and former Union Home Minister L K Advani after visiting the blast sites demanded an immediate revival of 'Prevention of Terrorism Act' (POTA) to tackle the terrorism menace.

While tackling the menace, the issue of minority or majority should not be mentioned, Mr Advani said, adding that talking about majority or minority was only about 'vote-bank' politics.

He wanted both the Central and State governments to adopt zero tolerance towards terrorism as the NDA government did.

Attributing the ''weak and terror-friendly policy of the Central government and the Congress party'' as being responsible for such occurences, party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government was ''yet to wake up to the reality and the entry of al Qaeda into several places of the country.'' The Communist Party of India (Marxist) said the horrific attack underlined how certain terrorist groups were working to disrupt normal life and communal harmony. Expressing sympathy for all those who lost their family members and those who suffered injuries, it said ''the culprits responsible for this outrage must be caught and brought to book.'' ''This is another dastardly and cowardly act of terrorists criminals after the Mecca Masjid incident who every time choose a spot where common people congregate,'' it said as authorities sounded a red alert throughout Andhra Pradesh and other southern states and all entry and exit points were being searched.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President N Chandrababu Naidu, condemning the twin blasts, demanded Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy own responsibility for the blasts and should resign.

Mr Naidu alleged that the state government had utterly failed to maintain law and order and was not sincere in curbing the terrorist activities.

''Dr Reddy has failed to discharge his duties and the whole police department was paralysed. The Chief Minister has no right to continue in office,'' he demanded.

The local unit of the BJP also condemned the blasts and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.

''Dr Reddy has lost the moral right to continue as the Chief Minister. He has failed to maintain law and order in the state. It is the result of minority appeasement policy pursued by the Congress government,'' BJP City Secretary M Ramakrishna Raju alleged.

CPI(M) State Secretary B V Raghavulu appealed to the government to enhance the compensation to the injured people and provide special treatment to them.

He said his party would support the government in its efforts to contain terrorism in the state.

State Secretary of the CPI, K Narayana said the government should involve the people in containing the terrorist activities and also organise peace meeting in every district to instil confidence among the people.

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee President K Keshava Rao urged the government to consider the opposition parties suggestion to contain terrorism in the state.

Samajwadi Party state general secretary Y V Suresh, condemning the incident, said his party would conduct a peace meeting in the city on September 5 in which Central leaders would participate.

The CPI (ML) expressed deep grief and sorrow over ''the killing of so many innocent lives'' in the blasts. Demanding stern action against the forces responsible for this dastardly act, CPI (ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya appealed to the people to maintain unity and defeat the nefarious design of those who wanted to disrupt peace and communal harmony.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Southern Region Chairman Pradipta K Mohapatra also condemned the terror attacks on innocent people in two separate blasts in the city.

In a statement here, Mr Mohapatra said ''we would join the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, in appealing calm to the people of the state.'' Terming them a ''vicious act of terrorism'', the United States also condemned the blasts. A statement issued here by the US Embassy here said ''our thoughts are with the people of Hyderabad and all of India at this sad time''.

The deewan of Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chisti's durgah Sayyad Zainual Aubedin Ali had also condemned the twin blasts in Hyderabad, suspectedly triggered by terrorists, expressed his disappointment over the Centre's ''soft attitude'' towards terrorism.

UNI