By IANS
Hyderabad : The state governments should take timely action on intelligence inputs and spruce up the state machinery, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil said Sunday, even as he refused to term as intelligence failure the overnight blasts here which killed 42 people.
Patil was talking to reporters after visiting Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat, where two near-simultaneous bomb blasts Saturday night killed 42 people and injured 70.
He admitted that there was some information about the terrorists planning strikes but said there was no information and time of the attacks.
Maintaining that there was no intelligence failure behind the tragedy, Patil said: “This is not the time to blame anyone. We have to be vigilant, help each other and avoid recriminations,” he said.
The state police machinery has come under attack from opposition for failing to prevent blasts despite a warning in this regard after the May 18 blast at the historic Mecca Masjid here, which had claimed nine lives.
The home minister said an atmosphere needed to be created where such things do not happen.
Condemning the blasts and conveying his condolences to the families of the victims, he said: “We will not bow down to such terrorist activities and make sure terrorism is eliminated.”
Asked about the leads into Saturday’s blasts, Patil said he would not discuss them openly and would comment only after investigations.
Rejecting Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani’s demand for reviving the Prevention of Terrorist Activities (POTA) Act, he said the legislation might not be effective in curbing such activities.