Blaming the cross-border terror groups for the bomb blasts in Hyderabad last year, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy on Wednesday alleged that the religious extremists instigated by Al Qaeda [Images] were unnecessarily targeting India.

Replying to the debate on the motion of thanks for the Governor's address in the state legislative assembly, Dr Reddy said, "The incidents of bomb blasts at Mecca Masjid, Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat Eatery in Hyderabad were related to cross-border terrorism. Many innocent lives were lost in these incidents."

He pointed out that religious fundamentalists, owing allegiance to some terror organizations, were fomenting trouble in the country. "Al Qaeda, by clubbing the United States, Israel and India together unnecessarily, is targeting our country without any rhyme or reason. Whether these are the terror attacks in Mumbai or Kashmir, this is the handiwork of cross-border terror groups," he observed.

He said that the motive behind the terror attacks was to hinder the flow of investments and tourists into states like Andhra Pradesh. He said that his government was taking all measures to curb the menace of terrorism and Maoist violence in the state. "We are ready to spend any amount to strengthen the law and order machinery," he added.

Dr Reddy said that the government was toning up the functioning of the police force, right from basic policing to tackling terrorist and Maoist activities.

A special force called Octopus has been formed to tackle terror threats and an allocation of Rs 60 crore has been made in the next year's budget for the same.

He said that the state police strength had remained stagnant for decades and failed to keep pace with the enormous growth in population. In this backdrop, the state government has embarked on a drive to recruit 37,730 more policemen in the next three years, including 10,000 personnel in the ensuing financial year. Such massive recruitment is not only
unprecedented in the state's history but also among all the states in the country.

The Chief Minister said that the state has been successful in tackling Maoist activity, with the central government commending Andhra Pradesh as a role model for other Maoist-affected states, to emulate in curbing this menace. He said Maoist violence had declined steeply in the state in the last four years.

Referring to political murders and factional killings, he said that the Congress government had taken stern measures to curb this menace. Citing statistics relating to factional and political killings over the years, during the regime of the Telugu Desam Party and the Congress, Dr Reddy said that political murders had declined since his government took office in 2004 and the state recorded the lowest number of political murders in 2007.

He said that the victims belonged mainly to the Congress and the TDP, though some activists of other parties were also killed in factional violence.

Stating that his government accorded utmost priority to the maintenance of law and order, he said, "We would do everything and anything to preserve the law and order in the state."