Shortly after his arrival in Mumbai, Singh held a security review meeting at the Mumbai airport.
Condemning the barbaric attacks on Mumbai, prime minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said perpetrators of terrorism will be dealt sternly. Shortly after his arrival in Mumbai, Singh held a security review meeting at the Mumbai airport.
The PM and Congress President Sonia Gandhi arrived in Mumbai to take stock of the situation after the blasts. While assuring Centre’s full support to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, the PM said, “The government will do everything to prevent such attacks.”
He also praised the state government and people of Mumbai who remained calm in the hour of crisis and lend out helping hand to victims. “The state government has handled the tragedy well,” the PM said.
The prime minister said that the terrorists "had the advantage of surprise."
Terrorists had the advantage of surprise
After taking the reins of the state government in December 2010, Chavan is now facing the biggest crisis after the blasts. Conveying his condolences to the families of the blast victims, the PM said, “I have come to Mumbai to express solidarity with the people in the fight against terror.”
Singh and Sonia during their two-hour stay visited Saifee and JJ hospitals to inquire the well-being of the injured. Governor K Sankaranarayanan, CM Prithviraj Chavan, deputy CM Ajit Pawar and home minister R R Patil were among those present in the meeting.
Earlier, Maharashtra Congress chief Manikrao Thakre and Mumbai Congress chief Kripashankar Singh along with officials welcomed Singh and Gandhi outside the airport.
‘Small group behind attacks’
Earlier in the day, Union home minister P Chidambaram said every city in India is vulnerable to such attacks as we live in the most-troubled neighbourhood.
Chidambaram said though there have been terror attacks all over the globe, Maharashtra was targeted twice in the last 31 months after the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai. He said there were 131 terror attacks in the first five months of the year all over the world.
While asserting that either state or central intelligence agencies did not have any inputs about the attacks, he said it does not amount to intelligent failure. He added that the terror group operated in a clandestine manner and there is possibility that it may be a small-time operator. “We are not ruling out the involvement of underworld operatives or terrorist groups in the attack,” he said.
“Ammonium nitrate was found to be used in the explosives, but the blasts were not remote triggered. However, the attacks were closely coordinated by the operatives behind the blasts,” he said.
Chidambaram said the central agencies, including a forensic team, have reached Mumbai and the efforts of gathering the forensic evidence was on.
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