New Delhi: Federal home minister Rajnath Singh on Friday stunned the opposition by blaming the previous Congress Party-led government for weakening India’s fight against terror.
Making a statement in the Lok Sabha on Monday about the Punjab terror attack, Singh accused his predecessor P. Chidambaram for coining a new term, ‘Hindu terror’, which, according to Singh, showed India as a demoralised and divided nation.
“I would like to ask everyone to remember how a term of ‘Hindu terror’ was invented to divert the attention a few years back. Even Pakistan applauded them. The then home minister coined this new term to divert the direction of probe. Hafiz Saeed of Pakistan had congratulated the then home minister ... The term ‘Hindu terrorists’ coined by the previous UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government has weakened India’s stand on terrorism,” Singh said.
India holds Saeed responsible for masterminding the November 26, 2008, terror attack on western metropolis Mumbai. He is on India’s most wanted list.
“Terrorism is terrorism — it has no religion, no caste. The fight against terrorism is the biggest challenge. The country should not look divided on the matter,” Singh added.
Unlike on Thursday when Singh made a statement on the Punjab terror attack, which claimed seven lives including three security personnel and four civilians, lawmakers in the Lok Sabha listened to the home minister in rapt attention. However, bedlam returned as soon as he finished his statement, forcing the adjournment of the house for rest of the day.
The opposition is not allowing the Houses of Parliament to function since the monsoon session started on July 21, demanding resignations of foreign minister Sushma Swaraj, Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
While Swaraj and Raje are accused of helping former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi, who has been living in London since 2011 after being accused of money laundering and corruption, opposition wants Chouhan’s resignation for allowing a massive admission test-cum-recruitment scam in his home state.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley had on Thursday criticised the opposition Congress party leadership of preventing discussion on terrorism by saying the its leadership had failed the test on a matter of national security.
Singh listed various steps taken by the government to foil repeated attempts to send terrorists from Pakistan to India in the recent past, and said the entry of three terrorists who engaged the Punjab Police in an 11-hour gun battle that ended with their deaths became possible due to the difficult terrain created by an overflowing Ravi river.
The Indian home minister reiterated his government’s assertion that the three terrorists responsible for attack on Gurdaspur district of Punjab came from Pakistan by crossing the Ravi river.
Singh slammed the opposition for making parliament seem like a divided house on the serious issue of terrorism.
Singh said that the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are committed to fight terrorism. “The government is firmly committed to root out terrorism from India. I also assure the house that the government will do everything possible to prevent cross-border terrorism aimed against India,” Singh said.
