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Intelligence failure led to Godhra carnage: Swami

"It is a failure on the part of the state CID and intelligence agencies. A judicial inquiry has been ordered. However, after Godhra, there was no failure on the part of the state government," Swami told a panel discussion on SAB TV anchored by Karan Thapar.

During the charged discussion in which Members of Parliament Sanjay Nirupam (Shiv Sena), Kapil Sibal (Congress) and Shabana Azmi (nominated) participated, Swami said it takes time for the state administration to come to grips with a situation of such magnitude.

The minister refuted the opposition charge that there was a deliberate delay in moving the army in.

Stating that the involvement of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence in the Godhra incident could not be ruled, Swami said although the government did not have conclusive evidence, it had leads indicating that the ISI could be behind the carnage in a bid to paint India in the same way Pakistan has been portrayed - as a fundamentalist country - before the world.

However, Nirupam, his NDA colleague, chided Swami for blaming the ISI for every major criminal event in the country.

"It is a shame on us. What is the government doing to contain such activities?" he asked.

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