Sonia, Shinde visit Mahabodhi temple

Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Wednesday visited the Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya which was rocked by multiple explosions on Sunday.

According to television reports, both Sonia and Shinde are expected to meet officials of investigating agencies as well as the state government to review security.

Their visit comes a day after Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh, along with senior party leaders Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad, visited the Mahabodhi temple.

Rajnath accused the Congress-led UPA government for failing to tackle terror attacks in the country, and said that the ruling party at the Centre needs to exhibit greater will to fight terrorism.

"The UPA government has proven to be a failure on this. We demand that the government comes up with a comprehensive plan so as to face any challenge, be it any kind of attacks. We urge the Central Government to take immediate steps to secure this temple site," he told the media persons.

Singh also alleged that the Congress Party has pitted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Intelligence Bureau (IB).

"Security agencies should not be misused for politics. They need to coordinate with each other to fight challenges like terrorism," said Singh.

"If there was an intelligence input, then the security at main Buddhist centers should have been stepped up," he added, while taking a jibe at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Jaitley on his part lashed out at the Centre, and said that it has made intelligence agencies an issue of vote bank politics.

"UPA has bartered security issues with vote bank politics," he said.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has begun probing the serial blasts, which rocked the temple town of Bodh Gaya on Sunday. Two monks were injured in the nine low intensity blasts.

Security agencies suspect that Indian Mujahideen may be behind Sunday's multiple blasts. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the blasts.

The Home Ministry has directed all states to ensure foolproof security at Buddhist shrines and Tibetan settlements.