World | India
Congress and BJP joust over Malegaon blasts
The involvement of Hindu radical leaders in the Malegaon bombing that killed six people on Wednesday turned into a political slugfest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, but BJP leader L.K. Advani refused to speak on the issue.
- IANS
- Published: 23:42 November 12, 2008
New Delhi: The involvement of Hindu radical leaders in the Malegaon bombing that killed six people on Wednesday turned into a political slugfest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, but BJP leader L.K. Advani refused to speak on the issue.
BJP President Rajnath Singh went ballistic during a tour of election-bound Chhattisgarh, calling the police action against Hindu activist Sadhvi Pragya "a conspiracy hatched by the Congress to target Hindu leaders".
In sharp contrast, BJP's prime ministerial candidate Advani, who had earlier stated that action should be taken against the sadhvi if she was indeed involved in the terror attack, kept quiet.
No comment
When a television channel asked him in Chennai about the involvement of Hindu radicals in the Malegaon blasts, Advani said: "At present I would not like to say anything. I am here to release the Tamil translation of my book [autobiography]."
Congress leader M. Veerappa Moily and spokesperson Shakeel Ahmad shot back, asserting that BJP leaders were sheltering Hindu radicals. "The BJP is going soft on terror," Ahmad said. The involvement of "rightwing organisations in terror activities is no longer a secret", Ahmad said. Besides Rajnath Singh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Ashok Singhal and former BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu also hit out at the government.
Singhal threatened "massive protests ... if Hindu religious leaders are insulted like this". "It is an insult of a religious leader to subject him or her to a narco analysis test; this is too much."
The tone of the BJP's outburst was set by Rajnath Singh, who said the Congress was framing Hindu leaders in the Malegaon case with an eye on the upcoming assembly elections in six states.
"I ask the UPA [United Progressive Alliance] government - is it necessary to communalise terrorism to win elections? If this government is really serious about tackling terrorism, then why is it not enacting a tough law to rein in terrorists?" he asked.
"In fact, this government failed to execute the death sentence of Afzal Guru, the man convicted for masterminding the attack on parliament."
Lucknow (IANS) A man, whom police believe to be the vital link among the nine people arrested in connection with the Malegaon bomb blast, was held in Kanpur yesterday, a top official said.
A joint team of the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Mumbai Police and its Uttar Pradesh counterpart arrested Dayanand Pandey, also known as Amritanand Swami, whose name had surfaced during the interrogation of those arrested earlier in this connection.
"The arrest was made from the Kakadev locality in the afternoon. According to our information, Pandey headed a religious body in Jammu Tavi," Uttar Pradesh ATS head and Additional Director General of Police Brijlal told reporters here.
With his arrest the number of people in custody has risen to 10.
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