Deputy prime minister LK Advani on Tuesday expressed confidence that the culprits responsible for the blasts will soon be nabbed.
He also said that the Centre is determined to flush out terrorism from the country. Blaming Pakistan for the rise in terrorist activities across the country, the home minister said this is how the neighbouring country expresses its anguish over India’s all- round progress. “India’s growth, its success — both as a democracy and as a secular country — with a large Muslim population, its economic progress are the factors that are root cause of the neighbour’s hostility. It is wrong to attribute it only to differences over Jammu & Kashmir.”
Mr Advani said while the perception is that India’s problem with Pakistan is J&K, “the fact is far more widespread. Mumbai only highlighted that”.
Supporting the argument, he pointed out that the LeT, which is based in Pakistan, is supposed to be promoting the cause of Kashmir. “It should then be interested only in J&K. But it is involved in Mumbai too.” Mr Advani, who visited the site of explosion at the Gateway of India, said the Maharashtra chief minister and senior police officials had indicated the involvement of SIMI and Lashkar-e-Toiba in the blasts that rocked Mumbai yesterday.
“The preliminary investigations have indicated the involvement of banned Students Islamic Movement of India and Pakistan-based LeT in Monday’s twin blasts in Mumbai.”
Commenting on Pakistan’s reaction that condemned the blasts, Mr Advani said the condemnation of the incident could be regarded “earnest” only if Islamabad handed over 20 absconders wanted by India. According to him, the explosives used in Monday’s blasts were similar to those used in recent blasts in Ghatkopar, Vile Parle and Mulund in the metropolis.
Asked whether the Centre had passed
on intelligence inputs about the possibility of such incidents to the state
government, he said: “On the eve of the Independence Day and at other times,
we get lots of such information, but blaming the state government is hardly
a right approach.”