World | India
Underworld gunning for me, Varun says
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Varun Gandhi on Sunday alleged that he is being targeted by the underworld gang headed by Chhota Shakeel.
- IANS
- Published: 22:54 July 5, 2009
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Varun Gandhi on Sunday alleged that he is being targeted by the underworld gang headed by Chhota Shakeel.
In fact, the perceived threat has made Varun's mother and party leader Maneka Gandhi dash off a letter to the prime minister complaining that the Home Ministry is treating the threats to her son's life too casually.
A day after six sharpshooters of the dreaded Chhota Shakeel gang were arrested from various parts of the national capital, Varun Gandhi urged Home Minister P. Chidambaram to take urgent action in the matter.
The MP from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh said in a statement: "The plot against my life by dangerous underworld criminals apprehended yesterday by Delhi Police exemplifies exactly the kind of terror and violence against which I stand and have been warning against."
Delhi Police had claimed the sharpshooters were targeting 'some VVIPs'.
Maneka Gandhi, MP from Aonla in Uttar Pradesh, wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh alleging that the home minister was taking the "threats" to her son's life lightly.
"The home ministry has taken these threats very casually - it is as if you want Varun Gandhi to be killed," she charged. "The home minister told me he cannot protect everyone in this country," she said.
Meanwhile, an Intelligence Bureau source said the agency was considering providing security to Varun Gandhi in the wake of the new developments.
Varun Gandhi, the grandson of the late prime minister Indira Gandhi, in his statement said: "This is the second time in recent months that such a conspiracy has been uncovered."
Varun Gandhi kicked up a major controversy with his reported hate speeches against Muslims in Uttar Pradesh and was even arrested for it under the stringent National Security Act. The Supreme Court later set him free on bail.
BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told a television channel that Maneka Gandhi had written to the prime minister that it was necessary to provide protection to Varun Gandhi.
Share this article
News Editor's choice
-
Mohammad launches H1N1 campaign
Shaikh Mohammad was the first one to receive the H1N1 vaccine.
-
Focus on best methods of crime investigation
International conference to also focus on anti-corruption measures
-
Muslims happy to live in the US
Warm welcome awaits visitors of any nationality despite political differences
