The Hindu : National : Brinda Karat, Yechury visit injured

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Friday, Jul 14, 2006

National

National

Brinda Karat, Yechury visit injured

Special Correspondent

MUMBAI: "We think this terrorist attack is not just against Mumbai but against India," said Sitaram Yechury, CPI (M) Rajya Sabha MP while speaking to the media. He and fellow Rajya Sabha MP Brinda Karat visited people injured in Tuesday's terror strike in different hospitals in the city, met Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and listened to the views of representatives from different communities about the situation in the city.

Mr. Yechury said that the whole nation saluted Mumbai. Usually, people keep away when there is a crisis. In Mumbai, people came forward to help and as a result saved lives. For instance, people from the Muslim majority colony of Naya Nagar in Bhayander, crossed a nallah and took people from a shattered compartment and sent them to hospital. Such display of humanity, he said, gave confidence that people could face the threat of terrorism.

Asked about the demand for more stringent laws to curb terrorism, Mr. Yechury said that the problem was not the inadequacy of laws. Despite draconian laws like POTA, terror attacks had occurred. The problem, he said, was the change in India's foreign policy under pressure from the United States. "We shouldn't make our foreign policy under pressure from some other country," he said. "This is expanding the horizon for greater attacks of terror."

Ms. Karat praised the doctors and nurses at the government and municipal hospitals who were treating the injured. She said it was amazing that these hospitals, that are always under pressure in normal times, responded so well to the emergency. Of the patients she spoke to, not a single one complained about ill treatment. This, she said, underlined the importance of supporting a strong public health system.

Appealing for an end to speculation by political parties and the media about the perpetrators of Tuesday's blasts, Ms. Karat said that investigations should be allowed to go ahead without hindrance.

In their meeting with the Chief Minister, Ms. Karat and Mr. Yechury urged the Maharashtra government to increase the compensation for the injured, particularly those who were in danger of losing sources of livelihood as a result of the injuries they had sustained as a result of the blasts.

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