Digvijay Singh slams Bihar government over Mahabodhi shrine security

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Digvijay Singh today criticised Nitish Kumar government in Bihar for keeping the security of Mahabodhi Temple in private hands despite intelligence warnings about terror attacks.


"If there were IB inputs (about possible terror attacks), then the state government should not have left security of a place as important as Mahabodhi temple in private hands," he told reporters here.

The party general secretary asked intelligence officials and BJP to refrain from singling out any community for the serial blasts at the famous Buddhist shrine yesterday and said everybody should wait for the NIA probe to get over before rushing to any conclusion.

Singh kept the heat on BJP for "politicising" the issue by calling Bihar bandh to protest against the state government's alleged security lapses that led to the terror attack in the temple town injuring two monks.

"What has happened in these few days (since JD(U) and BJP parted ways) that situation has become so serious in Bihar," he asked, taking a dig at BJP.

Singh had yesterday accused BJP of communalising politics in the run up to impending elections and asked non-BJP ruled states to be watchful.

"For god's sake, please let the investigation be completed and please do not communalise each act of terrorism... the BJP and the Sangh want to communalise politics in India again in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections," the Congress leader had alleged.

After the serial blasts rocked the Mahabodhi shrine and surrounding areas in Bodh Gaya, the temple management committee had yesterday decided to hand over the security to the state police.

Earlier, Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC) and state police were jointly managing the security of the temple with the management committee responsible for internal security, while the state police managed external security.