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Temple attack well thought out conspiracy: PM

Vajpayee, who cut short his visit to the Maldives and flew directly to Gandhinagar, said after going around the temple that all intelligence agencies had been directed to probe the matter.

Afghanistan had shown that guns and extremism could not make a difference, the prime minister said, and added that the international community had united against terrorism.

"Terrorism has once again raised its ugly face and it is taking its last breath. In the entire world, it (terrorism) has lost," Vajpayee said, adding that despite this some terrorists had not changed their ways.

Vajpayee, who met some of the injured victims in a hospital in Gandhinagar, said the Centre would give Rs 50,000 ex-gratia to each of them apart from the grant by the state government.

Describing the attack as "symptom of frustration", Vajpayee said the killing of women and children showed that terrorism thrived on violence.

"What I have seen, I cannot forget. The temple is a holy place, which is barred for terrorists, but they do not discriminate. The blood spilt here should be a challenge for us to wipe out terrorism," he said.

He also paid tributes to the martyred police personnel and commandos and said they showed tremendous bravery.

Earlier, Congress president Sonia Gandhi visited the temple and condemned the attack.

"Since yesterday, when we heard of the attack, our hearts were filled with sorrow," she said.

"This morning when we came to know it was over, we felt relieved," said Gandhi.

PTI

The Temple Attack: Complete Coverage
The Swaminarayan sect

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