The simultaneous bomb blasts that rocked three cities in Uttar Pradesh have angered the people who blame the State as well as the Centre for inaction against terrorist threat.
Allahabad/ Varanasi/ Kanpur/ Ayodhaya, Nov 24 : The simultaneous bomb blasts that rocked three cities in Uttar Pradesh have angered the people who blame the State as well as the Centre for inaction against terrorist threat.
In Varanasi, where at least nine people were killed in Friday's blasts, Bajrang Dal activists took to the street after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) called for a shutdown in the state.
The activists forced the shopkeepers to close their shops in the city.
VHP Chief Ashok Singhal said the attack was the result of Congress-led ruling coalition's soft attitude towards terrorists.
"The reason behind the increase in such incidents is that the Congress-led coalition government at the Centre is rather lax in curbing terrorist activities and has even repealed POTA," said Singhal.
In Allahabad, Samajwadi Party workers halted a train in protest against the state Government and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mayawati.
Union Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal, who is in Kanpur, criticised the Uttar Pradesh State Government for not taking the terrorist threat seriously.
"This is not the time to resort to politics. We should assuage people's fears and work towards ensuring that such events are not repeated. As far as the blast is concerned, our central intelligence agency had warned all the states in our country that any crowded place is a potential target of terrorists," said Jaiswal.
But the attacks couldn't deter the faith of thousands of devotees who turned out in large numbers on the banks of Ganges River in Varanasi to take a holy dip on the occasion of Kartik Purnima, the full moon day.
"Terrorism can never affect the faith of people. History reveals that devout Hindus are always ready to sacrifice their life for their faith," said Mridul Mishra, a devotee.
Similar scenes were visible in Ayodhya, where four people were killed in Friday's blast.
"Security arrangements are very good here. We are not scared at all," said Sachidanand Pandey, a devotee.
Terror struck Uttar Pradesh on Friday when militants triggered near-simultaneous blasts in court premises at Varanasi, Faizabad and Lucknow 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, which wanted to target Rahul Gandhi.
ANI