Cong attacks BJP on Jaipur blasts

New Delhi, May 16 (PTI) Stepping up its attack on the BJP on the Jaipur blasts, Congress today accused senior leader L K Advani and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje of attempting to whip up communal frenzy in the poll-bound state. The AICC also hailed Shivraj Patil as a "successful" Home Minister and pushed for a federal crime investigating agency to deal with acts of terror.
"Terrorists should be condemned and those who are trying to take political advantage of the situation should also be condemned," party spokesman Shakil Ahmed told reporters. Ahmed said the job of "responsible" politicians is to calm the situation after incidents like terror attacks, but the language used by Advani and Raje showed that they are "trying to flare up the situation.
Gujarat is their role model". Asked to elaborate on the Congress dig that in Rajasthan after "8 PM, no CM", he said that "8 PM" is reference to "some advertisements on TV, about which I am not much aware".
Seeking to put the blame on the BJP government in Rajasthan over the failure to prevent the blasts, Ahmed, who is also Minister of State for Home, said that law and order is primarily the responsibility of the state government. Replying to questions on the "competence" of those heading North Block, Ahmed hailed Shivraj Patil as a "successful" Home Minister whose tenure, he said, has seen decline in the terrorist acts.
To a query whether the Centre was afraid to name Pakistan and Bangladesh in the wake of the terror strikes, he said such a perception was wrong. He said a federal crime investigating agency would strengthen the hands of the government in dealing with acts of terror.