Congress defends itself on Samjhauta Express blast issue

New Delhi, Jan 11 (ANI): Under severe criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for diverting attention from several issues of corruption to the Samjhauta Express blast, the Congress on Tuesday defending itself said a democratic nation does not sweep things under carpet.

"The difference between a democratic state and a non-transparent state is that a democratic state does not sweep things under carpet. That is the manner in which a democracy gets strengthened," said Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari.

Further slamming the BJP, Tiwari said: "The BJP and RSS should reflect as to why organizations and individuals allegedly involved in terror draw support and sympathy of the ideology of RSS-BJP combine. They should seriously introspect. They should see that such ideologies need to be purged."

Earlier today, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed the Ministry of External Affairs to convey to Islamabad that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has not completed its probe into the 2007 explosions in the India-Pakistan train service, which claimed 68 lives.

"It is too pre-mature to share any information with anyone at this stage. The investigation is still on. When it is completed, we will take an appropriate decision," said a government official.

The Pakistan government has asked India to inform it about developments in the investigations into the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings.

Acting Deputy High Commissioner of India G.V. Srinivas was summoned to the Pakistan Foreign Office in Islamabad on Monday, and his attention was drawn to the recent reports in the media on the investigations into the Samjhauta Express blasts of February 2007.

The development took place in the wake of right wing activist Swami Aseemanand's reported confession about the involvement of Sangh activists in the attack, in which most of the victims were Pakistanis.

Swami Aseemanand, the head the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram in Gujarat's Dangs district, reportedly confessed before a magistrate to his involvement in the February 2007 Samjhauta train blast.

Sixty-eight people were killed when bombs were set off in two coaches of cross-country Samjhauta Express, running between Delhi and Lahore, around midnight on February 18, 2007 at Diwana near Panipat, 80 kilometers north of Delhi. (ANI)