The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, 16 April launched a sharp attack on the Congress after a court acquitted right-wing activist Swami Aseemanand and four others in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case, claiming that the Opposition party's "appeasement politics" of "defaming" Hindus has been exposed.
The anti-terror probe agency National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Hyderabad acquitted the five accused, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove charges against them. A massive blast had ripped through the Mecca Masjid on 18 May 2007, during Friday prayers, killing nine people and wounding 58 others.
BJP Says Karnataka Voters Will Teach Cong ‘a Lesson’
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that the Congress has long "defamed" Hindus for votes – and demanded that party president Rahul Gandhi and his predecessor Sonia Gandhi apologise for terms such as "saffron terror" and "Hindu terror".
For its appeasement politics, the Congress targeted and defamed Hindus and the country for merely some votes. That conspiracy has been exposed. The Congress has been exposed like never before.Sambit Patra
Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, Patra wondered if the Congress President would lead a candle march to India Gate and apologise for his attempts to "defame" Hindus.
Patra also raked up several comments by Congress leaders and a US diplomatic cable which had allegedly quoted Gandhi as saying that radicalised Hindu groups posed a bigger danger to the country.
Former home ministers P Chidambaram, Shivraj Patil and Sushil Kumar Shinde had also spoken about "saffron terror" and "Hindu terror", Patra alleged.
He also claimed that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was also practising appeasement politics, an euphemism used by the BJP for alleged pro-Muslim politics of some parties. Patra accused Siddaramaiah of "hobnobbing" with a Muslim outfit, Popular Front of India, while it is being probed by the National Investigation Agency.
People Losing Faith in NIA: Ghulam Nabi Azad
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, on the other hand, raised questions on the functioning of the NIA.
It (acquittal) is happening in each case since the government was formed four years ago...people are losing faith in the agencies.Ghulam Nabi Azad
No Justice Done: Owaisi
Echoing Azad’s comments, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi alleged that the probe in the Mecca Masjid blast case had not been pursued properly by the NIA.
CPI Flays NIA, Too
The CPI on Monday strongly criticised the NIA for not being able to provide "credible evidence" in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case. Lashing out at the NIA probe, the Left-wing party questioned the agency for its "failure" to establish the truth behind the blast.
The NIA court has acquitted all the accused for lack of credible evidence. But who are the people who did it? Who are the forces behind the blast? That should be found out.D Raja, CPI leader told PTI
"The fact remains that there was an attack. People should know who were behind such attacks. Let’s see what the government does or the investigating agency does. NIA completely failed to establish the truth behind the blast," Raja said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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