BJP holds protests against Shinde’s Hindu terror comment

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The BJP today held protests in various parts of the country to demand home minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s resignation for alleging that the BJP and the RSS were behind Hindu terror.

Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said, “Saffron and terror are antonyms. The home minister should take back his words and apologise...Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should apologise and the PM should sack Shinde.”

She alleged at a rally at Jantar Mantar here that Congress always distances itself from controversial comments made by its own government leaders.

Swaraj said that instead of attacking Pakistan for running terror camps against India, the home minister has targeted the main opposition party in the country.

The BJP leader said she had called up the National Security Advisor after the beheading of an Indian soldier and told him to inform the Prime Minister that the Opposition would fully support any strong action was taken against Pakistan.

The new BJP president Rajnath Singh, who also addressed the rally, declared that if Shinde is not sacked, his party will continue to press for its demand in both Houses of Parliament in the forthcoming session.

The party also said that this government had given visa to Pakistan’s women’s cricket team at this juncture.

Swaraj said Shinde has alleged the RSS and the BJP are involved in terror activities but when Congress leaders Mahipal Maderna, Gopal Kanda and Suresh Kalmadi were sent to jail, the BJP never called Congress a criminal organisation.

Mr Singh said the Congress, whose leaders refer to the JuD chief as “Hafiz Saeed Saheb” and earlier to al-Qaeda head as “Osamaji”, was not serious about fighting terror and saving this country from the menace.

“Shinde’s comments have tarnished the image of India across the world.... Sonia Gandhi’s silence on the issue shows that she perhaps thinks her votebank will be strengthened by it...Shinde will have to go. No force can save him,” Singh said.

Protests against Shinde’s remarks at the recent Jaipur conclave of Congress were held at various places in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.