BJP to support UPA if it enacts POTA like law: Rajnath Singh
Saturday, November 24, 2007

Faizabad, Nov 24 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Rajnath Singh today said that his party would support the Centre if it enacts a law on par with POTA that was promulgated during the NDA regime.

''The BJP will support the UPA Government in the Parliament if it enacts a law on the lines of POTA to curb terrorist activities in the country,'' Singh told reporters here.

Singh, who arrived here today, visited the blast site and met injured in the hospitals.

Coming down heavily on the UPA Government for having ''soft policies'' for tackling terrorism, he said that these policies are responsible for rise in terrorists' activities.

Meanwhile, police have traced an email, which warned of the attack, to a Rajdhani cybercafe in Laxmi Nagar areas of east Delhi. According to reports, three people, including two owners of the café have reportedly been detained.

Earlier in the day, a terror scare struck Mughalsarai railway station near Varanasi when a suspected blast was heard. Later, it was eventually turned out to be just a loud noise of crackers.

The death toll in the simultaneous bomb blasts in court premises in Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad on Friday has risen to 16.

The BJP and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) are observing a state-wide shutdown in protest against the blasts. 

Samajwadi Party workers have begun their protest early Saturday morning, stopping the Ganga-Gomti Express at the Allahabad railway station.

In Faizabad, a four-member forensic team is examining vital clues related to the blasts as to who could be behind the serial blasts.

According to sources, a terrorist group called Indian Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the blast.

On Friday night, the Uttar Pradesh police released sketches of three suspects believed to be behind the blasts. All sketches were prepared on the basis of information received from eyewitness.

Vikram Singh, Director General of Uttar Pradesh Police has said that new cycles could be likely clues for probe into blasts.

"Special Task Force will probe the case. We cannot rule out anything and will soon give you the result," Singh said.

The Home Ministry has already issued advisory to all States and Union Territories to step up vigilance and surveillance.

Terror struck in Uttar Pradesh on Friday when militants triggered near-simultaneous blasts in court premises killing 15 people, four of them lawyers, and injuring over 80.

Six bombs - three in Varansi, two in Faizabad and one in Lucknow - some planted on cycles, went off within a span of 15 minutes.

The blasts came a week after the Uttar Pradesh police along with central security agencies busted a Jaish-e-Mohammed module, who wanted to target Rahul Gandhi. (ANI)

- AY