ISRO Shootout Not Terror Attack, Pune Blast ‘Blot’: Chidambaram

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has made it clear that attack on ISRO facility in the morning was not a terror attack, described Pune blast as ‘blot on our record’ and said that government is not diluting the definition of rape, said media reports.

Speaking about the shootout at ISRO in the Lok Sabha, Chidambaram said that there was no terror attack, said reports.

“We have asked the CISF to do another security review. It was an amateurish attempt. The firing was done from a distance, which suggests an amateurish attempt. At the moment we can call it only as an attack; whether it’s a terrorist or somebody else we will know (later),” the minister was quoted as saying.

About German Bakery blast, Chidambaram insisted that the bakery had been informed in advance twice about the terror threat and described it as ‘blot on our record’, for it could not be prevented in spite of sharing of intelligence, reports said.

He asserted that there was no intelligence failure as sufficient information was shared about specific targets in Pune with the Maharashtra police, reports said.

“Despite the intelligence shared, despite the advisories issued, the Pune blast occurred. It is a blot. I regard that as a blot on our record,” Chidambaram was quoted as saying while answering a query by Supriya Sule (NCP).

The minister also dismissed suggestions that government was diluting the definition of rape, citing that efforts were on to widen the term to include all kinds of sexual assault, reports said.

“We are not going to dilute the definition of rape. The definition of rape will be widened to include all kinds of sexual assaults,” he was quoted as saying in response to a query during Question Hour.

A high-powered committee headed by Home Secretary GK Pillai had suggested making sexual assault gender neutral a few days ago.