SP General Secretary Amar Singh told reporters that it was extremely regrettable that BJP leaders were politicising the attack. “We also went to Mumbai and visited the injured in J J Hospital. But we kept away from the media, while BJP leaders made it a point to make public appearances and issue statements in this hour of crisis,” he said.

Singh said before the Mumbai attack, BJP leaders had accused the ATS members, particularly their chief Hemant Karkare, of being anti-Hindu and had put them through a media trial.

“But after the ATS officer lost his life in the attack, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi rushed in to announce a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the same officers against whom the BJP and the Shiv Sena had called for a Maharashtra bandh on December 1. What kind of politics is this? Does not this prove their double standards?” he said.

When asked if the incident highlighted the failure of the intelligence agencies, which led to the biggest ever terror strike in Mumbai, Singh initially sounded reluctant in criticising the UPA government and its agencies.

“This is an hour of crisis and not the time for criticism. It is also not a question of the NDA and UPA; it is about the nation’s survival and we must express solidarity with each other and join hands to solve the problem,” he said.