By IANS,
Hyderabad : Hyderabad is not a terrorist base, Home Minister P. Chidambaram clarified Wednesday after inaugurating a regional hub of the National Security Guard (NSG) here.
“It is a wrong word. No city is hub for terrorism. I don’t think you should brand any city as hub for terrorism,” he said when a reporter asked if Hyderabad had become a terrorist hub.
He was talking to mediapersons after formally declaring open the regional hub of the NSG. He inaugurated the first hub, in Mumbai, Tuesday. The NSG hubs are planned in the aftermath of the Nov 26 Mumbai terrorist attacks.
“Hyderabad came up on the radar screen about three weeks ago. We shared the input immediately with the Andhra Pradesh government. I think the commissioner of police made a public alert. They were looking for some people but nothing materialised,” he said.
Chidambaram confirmed that intelligence agencies had indicated a terror threat along the country’s west coast but clarified that it did not mean that there will be an imminent terror attack.
“There is an intelligence input that there could be a threat to the west coast. We therefore shared it with Gujarat, Goa and Maharashtra. But that does not mean that there is an imminent attack. These inputs are intended to prepare us in case it materialises but let me assure you that it does not mean there will be an imminent terrorist attack,” he said.
Chidambaram said that as per the practice recently established, as soon as an intelligence input was picked, the central government immediately shared it with the state governments concerned.
“The question will be answered in parliament,” said Chidambaram when asked if the Liberhan Commission report on the Babri Masjid demolition of 1992 would be tabled in parliament. Justice (retired) Liberhan submitted the probe report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday.
To a query, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy said the state government planned to deploy special security forces like the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) or Central Reserve Police Force (CISF) on Tirumala hills as part of the security for the Lord Venkateshwara temple that attracts millions of pilgrims.
“We are coming out with a scheme. The discussions are on but nothing has been finalised,” he said.