Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy on Sunday said Saturday's twin blasts were the handiwork of terror outfits from Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Speaking after an emergency meeting of the state Cabinet, the chief minister also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the victims. He said a government job would be provided to one member from each bereaved family. He also announced ex-gratia payment of Rs 25,000 each to the 53 injured persons and assured that the government would meet full expenses of their treatment at corporate hospitals where they have been admitted.
"The cabinet met and reviewed the situation earlier to and after the blasts. This sort of blasts reveals the nefarious activities of extremists. The cabinet unanimously passed a resolution condemning the terrorists who perpetrated these acts and offered condolences to the bereaved families," he said.
He said the cabinet also appreciated the "exemplary behaviour" of the citizens of the state who helped the government in bringing normalcy so very quickly in the twin cities of Hyderabad-Secunderabad soon after the blasts. He also thanked all the political parties for showing 'unity' not only in condemning the ghastly act of terrorists but also in bringing about normalcy. He urged everyone to act with lot of patience and not to create or spread any rumours.
Dr Reddy said the cabinet also expressed its satisfaction and appreciation to the way the police responded immediately after the incident and went about searching the entire city of Hyderabad. The police detected another bomb that could have exploded. "The cabinet congratulated the police on this account," he said.
Answering a spate of questions, the chief minister refuted suggestions that the twin blasts were due to failure of intelligence wings of the state and city police who could not anticipate this incident after the bomb blast at historic Mecca Masjid in the city on May 18, in which nine persons were killed and 58 others injured. "Most of the time, the external agencies or terrorist organisations are responsible for this type of incidents. The state government will definitely not have the wherewithal to go into this sort of intelligence operations," he said.
To a query whether Commissioner Balwinder Singh would be shifted, Dr Reddy shot back "What is wrong in it. In what way is Balwinder Singh responsible (for the bomb blasts)? This is sort of extremist activity of international terrorist organisations. Do you mean to say that the Commissioner or the local intelligence organisations of the state government can go into this sort of cross-border terrorism? This is not possible."
"You are all aware that this is an international affair (terrorist act). The terrorists get international support. We cannot have our intelligence network in Bangladesh or Pakistan to get information on that. In spite of the fact that national networks have some intelligence organizations, at all times, they will also not be in a position to give information. It is very easy to point a finger but very difficult to get all things at one moment. Basically, the international terrorist organisations are interested in destabilising the country," he said.
Dr Reddy pointed out that he never said that the Government of India is responsible for not providing the information (intelligence tip-offs). Nor did the centre the say the state government was responsible.
"There are so many intricacies involved. Unfortunately, so many things even I know also I cannot divulge to the media," he said. However, he pointed out that the twin blasts now and the Mecca Masjid blast earlier point to the involvement of terror organisations of Bangladesh and Pakistan.