Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s statement on Thursday minutes after the Hyderabad blasts that the government had alerted the States about the possibility of an attack drew sharp criticism from political parties in both Houses of Parliament on Friday. MPs questioned the government for ignoring the intelligence inputs.
“Was the Centre’s role over after writing a letter to the States?” asked several MPs while condemning the twin blasts.
The sharpest attack on Shinde came from the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, who said Shinde made a “routine” statement in the House after returning from Hyderabad. Shinde made a statement in both Houses on Friday.
“We wanted to ask you, as you said you had given information to the State government. Even if you had not given such information, the State government should have been alert after Afzal Guru’s hanging. These things are expected in vulnerable areas and sensitive areas like Andhra Pradesh should have been alert. Did your duty end by merely passing on the information. What did you do to stop the incident?” Swaraj asked.
Swaraj also questioned if the bomb blasts had anything to do with the inciting speech given by MIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi in the recent past in Hyderabad.