New Delhi:
Lambasting the Centre and Bihar government for failing to prevent the serial blasts in Bodh Gaya despite intelligence tip off about nine months ago, BJP on Tuesday demanded putting in place a comprehensive plan and coordinated effort by various agencies to deal with threat to country's internal security.
"The IB had given a specific tip off about nine months ago on possibility of a terror attack in Bodh Gaya. Yet the union home ministry failed to put in place security arrangements in the temple town and in Mahabodhi temple in particular to prevent the reprehensible terror attack two days ago," BJP president Rajnath Singh said.
The terror attack in Bodh Gaya could have been averted had the central and state governments paid heed to the intelligence input and put in place security arrangements in the temple town in view of threat perceptions due to the situation in Myanmar, he said referring to sectarian clashes between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in that country.
The union home ministry did not act on the intelligence tip off and also did not issue advisory to the state government to review security arrangements in the temple town and deploy additional forces.
He slammed its reported plea that the intelligence agencies had given no time frame for the occurence of the terror attack. "The Centre cannot escape the responsibility of protecting the Buddhist shrines in Bodh Gaya in view of their international importance and visited by pilgrims from across the country and the world."
The Centre, he said, had failed to take effective measures to deal with internal security from terrorists and Maoists and emphasised on coordinated efforts between the security and intelligence agencies to root out the menace.
The terror attack in Bodh Gaya has damaged India's image as an abode of Buddhist pilgrimmage and pilgrims from abroad will hesitate to visit various shrines in the temple town and elsewhere in the country fearing threat to their lives, he said.
