BJP and the Left parties on Sunday raised questions on the efficacy of the government's intelligence-gathering machinery and said it was imperative that lapses be identified and rectified to prevent terror attacks like the Pune blast.
Under attack from the opposition in the wake of the first major terror strike after the 26/11 carnage, Congress said, "nobody should try to play politics with people's misery. The country should face the challenge of terror unitedly."
Rejecting Home Minister P Chidambaram's claim that the blast was not a result of an intelligence failure, BJP said government "must seriously introspect whether our intelligence collection and security responses are still inadequate."
The main opposition also asked the government not to go ahead with "misconceived and adventurist steps" like resuming dialogue with Pakistan and rehabilitating militants who wish to return from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. "Terror and talks cannot co-exist. When terror threatens India, 'not talking' is a legitimate diplomatic option," Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said. Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray blamed Chief Minister Ashok Chavan's "ignorant politics" for the blast.
"It is the sin of Chavan that killed nine innocents in the terror attack," he said, claiming security in sensitive parts was diverted to ensure release of Shah Rukh Khan's movie 'My Name Is Khan' which was opposed by the Sena.
CPI(M) said the attack was "disturbing" as it came despite "prior warnings" of a possible terror strike. "It is imperative in the interest of the country's internal security that such lapses be identified and rectified urgently." CPI national secretary D Raja said the government should bring out the truth behind the Pune blast.
Referring to Chidambaram's statement that there was no intelligence failure leading to the blast, Raja said the Home Ministry should speak through its actions and not indulge in rhetoric.
Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said the government and the concerned security agencies should look into the matter in such a way that the "perpetrators of this type of heinous crimes should not escape the clutches of law". Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said, "This (the blast) is government's failure... they had intelligence but they did not act upon that."
She also said that BJP does not want the government to go ahead with the Indo-Pak talks unless Islamabad takes concrete action in the Mumbai case. Jaitley also said, "As long as the terror infrastructure in Pakistan is not dismantled and Pakistan does not stop sponsoring terror from its soil, composite dialogue should not resume."
"The government in the past few days has announced some misconceived and adventurist steps.....The BJP urges the government to reconsider both these steps -- allowing persons from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to return and resuming dialogue with Pakistan," he said. While condemning the blast, he said the targeting of foreign nationals was intended to create an international impact.
"This blast establishes that those inimical to India are continuing their war against India. India is not and Indians will not accept India as a soft state," Jaitley added. PTI
