NEW DELHI: The series of bomb blasts taking place in Indian cities with alarming regularity has raised questions about the government's laxity in internal security. The toll in the latest, five bomb blasts planted in dustbins of marketplaces in the capital city of Delhi on Saturday September 13, has gone up to 23. And with it has gone up the call in the media for the scalp of Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil.

The Congress party was in two minds over the removal of Patil, but even if Patil goes at best he would be only a scapegoat. Actually it is the entire government apparatus, starting from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh which is to blame. Instead of taking some action, he was found to be condemning the blasts, as if he was the Prime Minister of a foreign country! Indian police meanwhile identified two suspects behind bomb blasts in New Delhi.

Police in Gujarat said two men wanted for a similar series of blasts in the city of Ahmedabad in July may have played a significant role in the attacks in the Indian capital. One of the suspects, identified as Qayamuddin, "could have been involved in planting the bombs," said Gujarat's Joint Commissioner of Police Ashish Bhatia. The other, Abdul Subhan, a computer expert from Mumbai, was "also likely to be involved in the Delhi blasts," Bhatia told AFP. The attacks in both Ahmedabad and Delhi were claimed by the Indian Mujahideen, a shadowy Muslim militant group that taunted police Saturday with an email saying "stop us if you can."

The Delhi blasts were the fourth in a major Indian city in as many months, and refueled debate over the ability of the security and intelligence forces to prevent such attacks and bring those responsible to justice. In 2004, India's new Congress-led government scrapped an anti-terror law introduced by its predecessor BJP-led NDA after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The Congress argued that the legislation, which gave sweeping powers to the police, was being misused to settle political scores. At the time, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh vowed that repealing the law would not weaken the country's ability to combat terrorism, but the recent spate of attacks has challenged that assertion. "More than four years into its term, the government's record on this account is looking even more shocking," the Indian Express newspaper said.

"They have simply not done enough to bring closure to any of the terrorist incidents of the past four years, to follow leads thoroughly, to crack the organizations behind the incidents," the Express said. The Hindustan Times accused the government and opposition of being too willing to "woefully sacrifice national consensus against a common enemy" at the altar of political one-upmanship. "Going by the way we conduct our post-attack investigations and put into place barriers against future attacks, one would be forgiven for thinking we are new to terrorism," it said.

The toll in Delhi could have been higher as three more bombs were defused, including a device found near India Gate, one of the country's most iconic monuments and a major tourist attraction in the heart of Delhi. The emergence of the Indian Mujahideen has forced authorities to confront the specter of a home-grown militant force -- having previously blamed neighbouring Pakistan for orchestrating most attacks on Indian soil. However, Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony suggested that the group may yet be found to have links with Pakistan.

"Militants are getting support from across the border and it is a fact," he told reporters. Security experts have said the formation of the Indian Mujahideen may be an effort to create a fresh identity for groups banned by the Indian government over the past few years such as the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). SIMI, founded over 30 years ago, was outlawed in 2001 over its alleged terror links and is currently challenging the ban in the Supreme Court.-(With input from agencies)