Bangalore/Ahmedabad: As six blasts shook the national capital Saturday, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said he had alerted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about the terror plot on the basis of the interrogation of suspects but the Gujarat police said they had "no inkling" of any threat to New Delhi.
"Suspects arrested after the Ahmedabad blasts had told our police clearly that very soon there will be blasts in Delhi. They had said that all preparations for the blasts have been completed and only orders to carry them out were awaited," Modi told reporters in Bangalore.
"Ten days ago, when I met the prime minister, the home minister (Shivraj Patil) and the National Security Adviser (M K Narayanan) in New Delhi, I had specifically alerted them that the terrorists being interrogated by the Gujarat police had indicated Delhi was going to be their next target," Modi told reporters.
"The terrorists had said they were going to target Delhi in the near future, though we did not have specific dates or places," he added.
While senior Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani repeated Modi's remarks at a Bangalore rally and said his alert was no heeded, the Gujarat police said there was no specific information on the Delhi blast plot.
"We had no inkling of any plot for the Delhi blasts in the near future from the interrogation of SIMI activists so far. We knew they were desperate and they would be doing it at some other place," said Ashish Bhatia, joint commissioner of police (Crime Branch) of Ahmedabad, said.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) R V Ansari said: "No clues. Absolutely no clues came of the Delhi angle during interrogation of the SIMI activists by Ahmedabad crime branch.
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"We suspected something was in the offing. These men are pathologically inclined to do what they want do as long as they are not caught," Ansari said.
The Gujarat police have been interrogating 10 Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) activists along with their leader Saffar Nagori in connection with the July 26 serial bombings in Ahmedabad that claimed 56 lives.
The Indian Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the attacks in Ahmedabad as well as in New Delhi.
Gujarat Director General of Police P P Pande had last month said the Indian Mujahideen was nothing but a new front of the banned SIMI.
Modi, in Bangalore to attend the BJP national executive meeting which began Friday, said innocent people were being killed due to "the soft policy adopted by the central government".
He said the states should be allowed to frame anti-terror laws to combat extemism.
Modi said he had raised the issue of terrorism earlier Saturday during the national executive meet.
"If we want to fight terrorism, the country will have to unite against terrorists," he said.
BJP's prime ministerial candidate Advani also told the party's Vijay Sankalp Yatra in Bangalore later Saturday that Modi had informed the prime minister and the home minister of the threat.
"Modi had alerted the prime minister and the home minister 10 days back that interrogation of SIMI activists in Ahmedabad had revealed that next blasts would be in Delhi," Advani said.
"Modi's alert has not been heeded," Advani said.
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