By Syed Zarir Hussain, IANS,
Guwahati : Middle-aged Kuddus Ali and young Biplap Das are both writhing in pain and still look dazed with most part of their faces and limbs bandaged – victims of the murderous terror strikes in Assam last week.
The two are lying side by side at a hospital in Guwahati – the room also shared by dozens of other blast victims, some of whom could possibly be maimed for life.
“Terrorism has no religion… we both are victims of terrorist attacks. Like me, all these people lying here suffered the pangs of the deadly explosions,” Das said seething with anger.
A deadly wave of bombings Thursday killed 77 people and wounded 300 in Guwahati, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon and Barpeta.
Ali is equally aghast at the wave of bombings and more so as he is the only breadwinner of the family.
“I would say I am lucky to have survived the blast as I came to know later that a few other people waiting by my side were blown up into pieces. But I don’t know how I am going to support my wife and two children now,” Ali, a vegetable vendor, said with a voice choked with emotion.
But both Das and Ali are peeved at the way some political parties and leaders were trying to project the bombings on communal lines.
“We don’t want the deadly bombings to be politicised. We are the sufferers and politicians are only interested in media publicity for votes. Please ask them not to play politics at our expense,” said another injured blast victim who escaped with limb injuries.
“Terrorists are terrorists, be it Hindus or Muslims. They should be caught and hanged, but don’t communalise the terror strikes,” said Das.
Equally distraught are the legal fraternity in Assam – the blast near the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court in Guwahati killed at least three lawyers and wounded dozens.
“We don’t want politicians to come here… we are capable of solving our own problems,” shouted an angry lawyer when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani visited the court Friday.
Advani had to make a hasty retreat from the Guwahati court. Home Minister Shivraj Patil was also forced to leave a blast site in Kokrajhar after angry locals shouted anti-government slogans.
What has irked most is Advani’s statement at a press conference in Guwahati where he said: “I know people are angry (referring to locals in Guwahati’s Ganeshguri area setting ablaze ambulances, fire tenders, and police vehicles after the blasts), but then they should not take to violence as a means to protest. There are democratic ways… let this anger remain in your heart and you can vent that anger through the ballot while voting.”
“Advani came here and sought votes while the state was bleeding,” said Congress MP from Guwahati Kirip Chaliha.
Local newspapers, too, gave bold headlines about Advani seeking votes.
Meanwhile, locals across the state are protesting against terror in various forms – lighting candles in streets and homes, musical processions playing sombre pieces on violins, and silent processions, besides some organizations calling shutdowns.