New Delhi, Sept 10 (ZEENEWS.COM) Describing the Malegaon blasts as a "diabolic attempt" to incite communal violence, the CPI(M) today asked the government to view it with "utmost seriousness" and spare no efforts in thwarting terrorist designs to divide the people.

"Coming after the Mumbai train explosions, this attack should be viewed with utmost seriousness", the party polit bureau said, adding that security agencies must uncover the motives behind the attack and track down those responsible.

The party said the "links" between the earlier blasts in Nanded in April and the explosions in Parbani, Purna and Jalna in recent years "must also be investigated".

Blasts aimed at creating divide: Sonia Gandhi

Asking people to maintain communal harmony, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who met the blasts` injured in hospitals today, said the "acts were aimed at creating a divide in the society".

"I came here to see the damage caused... And above all to meet the people and give my condolences to them. The most important thing at this juncture is to maintain communal harmony," Gandhi told reporters.

"These acts are aimed at creating a divide. The best thing is to live together," she told a press conference during which compensation cheques were handed over to the families of the deceased.

Puri Shankaracharya condemns blasts

The Shankaracharya of Puri, Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, today condemned the bomb blasts at Malegaon and appealed to all communities to maintain peace and calm.

"It`s a painful incident. All places of importance, be it social, religious or political have been attacked by now. Jama Masjid has also been attacked, but this one is the most dreadful," the Puri seer who is travelling to New Delhi said.

The Shankaracharya said it was imperative for Hindus, Muslims, Parsis and all religious communities in the country to came together and build a powerful network to resist terrorism.

Munde seeks CBI probe into blasts

Seeking a judicial inquiry and a probe by the CBI into the Malegaon blasts that claimed 31 lives and injured 297, senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde today demanded the resignation of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil.

"A sitting High Court judge should probe the blasts, which are aimed at fomenting communal trouble in the state," Munde, a former Deputy Chief Minister, told reporters here.

CBI and not ATS, should probe the blasts, Munde said. "ATS has been a failure in probing the July 11 Mumbai serial blasts," the opposition leader in the state assembly, said.

He also demanded the resignation of Patil, who also holds the home portfolio, over the law and order situation in the state.

Deshmukh should resign: Opposition

Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Ramdas Kadam has demanded that the Vilasrao Deshmukh-led DF government should resign for "failing to check incidents like Malegaon blasts even after inputs from central intelligence agencies warned about subversive acts."

Apart from not maintaining law and order, the state has also failed to prevent farmers` suicides and malnutrition deaths, he said adding that his party Shiv Sena will launch an agitation if the culprits behind yesterday`s act were not arrested soon.

Kadam after meeting the injured told reporters here that Shiv Sena would disrupt proceedings of the legislature at its winter session if a civil hospital was not set up in the textile town.

Mob sets bus ablaze in Nagpur

A mob today set a Maharashtra state transport bus on fire at Pusad in Yavatmal district, near here, in protest against the multiple blasts at Malegaon that claimed over 30 lives and left 189 persons injured, police said.

They stopped the Pusad-Purangi Bus at Loni and set it on fire after asking passengers to alight, police said.

A fire engine and additional police force have been rushed from Pusad to Loni, police added.

Muslims hold anti-Pak demo

Members of Muslim community today held an anti-Pakistan demonstration at Kalupu locality in Ahmedabad to protest blasts in Malegaon.

About 150 members of the minority community came out on the streets and shouted anti-Pakistan slogans, denouncing yesterday`s multiple blasts in which several members of the minority community were killed. They also urged people to maintain peace.

One of the demonstrators, Rauf Bengali said, "We Muslims can see a larger picture behind the blasts that happened in Malegaon yesterday. We strongly believe it to be a handiwork of Pakistan`s ISI."

"First, in order to create a rift between Muslims and Hindus, elements connected with Pakistan`s ISI bombed temples (like at Varanasi) and now they are exploding bombs around mosques and graveyards," he said.

"We urge the Hindus and Muslims to stand united against such terrorist activities, directed to create communal tensions between the two communities," Bengali added.

British Indian Muslims deplore bombing

Condemning the blasts in Malegaon that claimed 31 lives as an "outrageous" act of violence, the Council of Indian Muslims, UK, today said the attack was aimed at destroying the communal fabric of Indian society.

"In order to curb the disease of terrorism we urge the government to set up a public inquiry and punish those found responsible for the crimes," CIM`s chairman Munaf Zeena said in a statement.

13 injured in Malegaon blasts shifted to Dhule Hospital

Thirteen people injured in the serial bomb blasts at Malegaon yesterday and were undergoing treatment at a hospital there were shifted to a civil hospital in this town, a senior health official said on Saturday.

Fifteen people who sustained injuries in the multiple blasts at Malegaon, about 50 km from here, were admitted to the civil hospital here yesterday, civil surgeon Dr T D Khot said.

However, one serious patient has been shifted to a private hospital here while another died while he was being taken to the J J Hospital in Mumbai this morning, Khot said.

He added that the condition of the thirteen patients is stable.

All the injured, except three, are from Malegaon itself. The three are from Maharashtra districts of Chalisgaon, Akola and Jalna and were visiting some relatives in Malegaon yesterday, he added.