Prime Minister Narendra Modi  hit out at the Opposition during a rally in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, recalling the 2008 Ahmedabad bomb blasts. Contending that some parties had been ‘sympathetic’ towards such terrorists, Modi also accused the previous Samajwadi Party-led government of seeking to “withdraw cases against several terrorists”.

“When I was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, during that time there were serial bomb blasts in Ahmedabad. I can never forget that day…On the same day, I resolved that my government would find these terrorists from the underworld and punish them,” the Prime Minister recalled during a public event in Hardoi.

Earlier this week, a special court had sentenced to death 38 members of the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) for the Ahmedabad bombings which killed 56 people and injured over 200 on July 26, 2008. The court also gave life terms to 11 other IM convicts in the case. Speaking in Hardoi today, Modi said that he had “kept silent” for so many years because the hearings for the Ahmedabad blast was underway.

“Today when the court has sentenced the terrorists, I am now raising the matter in front of the country. And today I will also praise Gujarat Police for their efforts to eliminate many modules of terrorists….two days ago many accused of the Ahmedabad blast have got capital punishment. Today I’m mentioning it because some political parties have been polite towards terrorism..this is very dangerous for the country.. that’s why everyone must know,” he added. 

According to the court order, the the timing and locations of the bombs that went off at two hospitals in Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008, were chosen with an aim to kill then Gujara CM Narendra Modi, then home minister Amit Shah, MLAs, relatives of patients and others assuming they would rush to these hospitals to attend to people injured in bombings in other areas. The court also stated in its order that the accused were trained to carry out mass killings to target the Hindu population.