Post-arrests, state 145;high146; but alert

In something of a welcome change, Gujarat has been more or less absent from national headlines this week...

In something of a welcome change, Gujarat has been more or less absent from national headlines this week, but as the state slips into festive mode with Ganesh Utsav, then Eid-ul-Fitr, followed by Navratri 8212; which entails nine days of revelry8212; and then Diwali, the Government and law enforcement agencies here are not taking any chances.

On September 3, the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, shared a press briefing session with L K Advani in Delhi and recently met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as well 8212; the

focus of both meetings was to drive home the point that the state and the country need tough terror laws.

And, of course, Modi as well as the BJP had something to be chuffed about, since it is Gujarat, which made a breakthrough in the Ahmedabad blasts within less than a month of the devastating incidents that ripped through the city on July 26.

In the wake of this 8216;triumph8217;, this week has Gujarat witnessing full-page colour ads in all the dailies telling citizens how to spot terrorists, even as Ganesh pandals were equipped with metal detectors and various localities fitted with close circuit TV cameras.

As the state struggles to leave the trauma of the blasts behind, the mood is cautiously festive across Gujarat 8212; and with Ganesh Utsav and Ramzan celebrations coinciding this year 8212; the authorities do not wish to tempt fate. So, Ganesh pandal organisers have been briefed to exercise extra caution and install CCTV cameras, while sensitive areas in Vadodara are also being watched around the clock by these security devices. What may have been viewed as an invasion of privacy prior to the blasts is now welcomed as a crucial safety measure.

Regular briefing sessions by Ahmedabad8217;s Crime Branch outline how the 10 arrested planned the blasts, where they trained and the larger national conspiracy behind their actions. What makes all this more alarming is that the culprits are home-grown Gujarati men who planned the attack in the state itself.

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Worth mentioning is that the police refuse to discuss how the conspiracy occurred right under their noses. Any query or doubts raised about the investigation by any pesky journalist, according to the Gujarat Police chief, P C Pande, is 8220;anti-national8221;. In fact, he made this claim during two press briefings 8212; one to detail how the police zeroed in on the Ahmedabad terror blasts8217; accused and, thereafter, when he explained how bombs in Surat, none of which exploded, were planted including one on trees.

Meanwhile, L K Advani has been endorsing Modi unabashedly. He explained the Chief Minister8217;s presence in the national press briefing session, with a categorical statement of support: 8220;I chose to come here with Modi because we are speaking on terror and his state has made a breakthrough in the blasts.8221;