Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday asked the people of the nation to maintain communal harmony and peace in the wake of twin blasts in Malegaon in Maharashtra.

Condemning the blasts, he asked the people to remain calm.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee also condemned the blasts and asked people to maintain peace and harmony.

"[Sonia] Gandhi has expressed deep shock and anguish over the dastardly incident. She has described it as an act of cowardice and asked people to maintain peace, patience and harmony," party spokesman Satyavrata Chaturvedi told reporters.

He said such incidents would further strengthen the party's resolve to confront terrorism.

The Lok Sabha speaker also expressed shock and sorrow over the loss of innocent lives in the explosions.

In a message sent form Abuja, Nigeria, where he is attending the 52nd Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, Chatterjee conveyed his deep sympathies to the members of the bereaved families and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

Thirty people were killed and many others injured in two blasts in the communally sensitive town of Malegaon in Nashik district.

The Bharatiya Janata Party also condemned the incident and blamed the attack on what it called the ruling United Progressive soft policies towards terrorism.

"We condemn the attack and feel that it is high time the government took immediate review of the internal security. Such attacks are a result of the government's soft approach towards terrorism," senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.