“The main source of communalism in the country is the RSS and BJP”

IANS/New Delhi

A tweet from Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmad alleging that the banned terror outfit “Indian Mujahideen was formed after the Gujarat riots” stirred a political storm yesterday with the BJP reacting sharply to it.

“Indian Mujahideen was formed after (the) Gujarat riots (of 2002), says NIA (National Investigation Agency) in its charge sheet. (But) Even now BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) will not desist from their communal politics,” Ahmad posted on social networking site Twitter.

Later, speaking in Patna, Ahmed said, “The main source of communalism in the country is the RSS and BJP,” and added that those who want to stop communal politics should “build pressure on the BJP and the RSS”.

Reacting sharply to it, the Bharatiya Janata Party cautioned the Congress against playing with the security of the country.

“I urge the Congress not to play with the national security. I don’t know what National Investigation Agency has said... I think the threat to the country’s security is more important,” BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

“Today, there is peace in Gujarat. The growth rate of Muslims in Gujarat is the best in the entire country. But the Congress is playing this kind of rant communal politics. It is only a desperation on their part because they have no answers whatsoever for all the wrongs they have done to India,” the BJP leader added.

Another senior BJP leader, Meenkashi Lekhi tweeted: “Shakeel Ahmad seems (to be) justifying (that) IM shares their objective and is sympathetic to their cause.”

BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu was also dismissive of the charge and asked Ahmad to stop arguing in favour of terrorists. “What is this stupid argument...It has become a habit with some people. These organisations are there since the beginning,” Naidu said.

“Don’t argue for IM and other such (terror) outfits. Some people say because of Mumbai riots, some people say because of Gujarat (they have emerged),” Naidu added.

On Wednesday, the NIA filed a charge sheet in a Delhi court against five suspected operatives of Indian Mujahideen for their alleged involvement in hatching a conspiracy to carry out terror strikes in the country.

Narendra Modi led the state in 2002 when riots broke out that left 2,000 dead, most of them Muslims. Earlier this month, in a rare interview, Modi defended his actions during the riots, asserting that “we used our full strength to set out to do the right thing.”

Talking exclusively to news agency Reuters, the Gujarat chief minister said, “The Supreme Court created a special investigative team (SIT) and top-most, very bright officers who oversee the SIT. That report came. In that report, I was given a thoroughly clean chit, a thoroughly clean chit.”

The Gujarat Chief Minister, seen by many in his party the BJP as a potential candidate for Prime Minister, is accused by political rivals of not doing enough to prevent the communal riots of 2002, in which hundreds of Muslims were killed under his watch.