New Delhi: Facing attack from BJP on the issue of terrorism, government on Friday came down heavily on the main Opposition party, saying that it was "not in the DNA of BJP" to be bipartisan.
Soon after BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley addressed a press conference to attack government, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal hit back.
"It is deeply unfortunate that BJP should have so quickly given up the whatever pretence of bipartisanship was shown two days ago...It is not in the DNA of BJP to maintain bipartisanship," Chidambaram told a press conference along with Bansal.He slammed Swaraj and Jaitley for addressing press on Delhi High Court bomb blast, saying he did not recall Leaders of Opposition after Parliament attack (in December 2001 when NDA was in power) holding a press conference.
Bansal said out of 140-hour Monsoon Session, 66 hours were lost due to uproar created by BJP even though the government had expressed readiness to hold discussions on any issue.
"They (BJP) are expressing happiness, claiming they had an upper hand during the Session. This is unfortunate. Their real face has been exposed," he said, adding that the "dignity" of Parliament has been lowered and people should ponder over it.
'We are doing everything possible'
Chidambaram assured that the government was doing their best to tackle terror two days after the Delhi High Court blast claimed 12 lives and injured over 75 people.
“No one can accuse government of being soft on terror. My appeal to everyone is we should learn from other societies. Everyone has to remain on alert," said the Home Minister.
On the ongoing investigation, Chidambaram said that the authorities have found some "promising leads" though not "conclusive leads" on the Delhi High Court Blast.
“We are pursuing them (leads in the Delhi blast case) around the clock. We are seeking help from abroad too,” said Chidambaram.
He said the forensic experts were corroborating their findings about the nature of the explosives used in the powerful bomb that exploded outside the Delhi High Court on a busy Wednesday.
"Preliminary findings of forensic experts indicate nitrate-based explosives were used.
"These findings are being reconciled to know the exact nature of the explosives," the minister said, indicating that investigators were yet to make any major headway in cracking the third worst attack in India since the November 2008 Mumbai strike.
He said the investigators have traced the e-mail attributed to the Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HuJI) to an internet cafe in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district.
"The person suspected of sending the e-mail has been taken into custody for interrogation. We will have to wait for the report (after questioning of the suspect)," Chidambaram said.
Chidambaram also confirmed that a third email has been received which has claimed responsibility for the Delhi blast.
“It seems to be very amateurish. It took only a few minutes to crack. But we are taking it seriously,” said Chidambaram.
The Home Minister added that all three emails are being investigated.
Chidambaram defends himself
Chidambaram also defended himself against attacks by opposition after they blamed the governenment oflosing credibility.
Countering BJP attacks said, "I expected opposition leaders to show greater bipartisanship, maturity and statesmanship specially at a time when people have died."
He said that the three terror attacks after he took over as a the Home Minister are blots on my image.
However, there have been blots on other governments as well.
He said, "We are trying to rebuild capacity to respond to terror. " And that the government was following up with international agencies.
He said that all we can do is place everyone on high alert.
Defending the move of not installing CCTV cameras in the high court, he said, "PWD had cancelled the decision to install CCTV's at High Court fearing criticism. It was risk-averse."
(With inputs from agenies)
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