New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi believes that terrorism of all kinds were a threat to India, the Congress said on Friday, reacting to the WikiLeaks cable release about the party general secretary's remarks on Hindu radical groups.
"Rahul Gandhi's view is that terrorism and communalism of all types is a threat to India. We need to remain vigilant against acts of terrorism of all kinds, no matter who commits them," Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said in a statement.
Dwivedi's statement came minutes after party spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the party would comment on the Wikileaks cable release about Gandhi's remarks on Hindu radical groups after verifying its authenticity.
"We will inquire into this matter, verify its authenticity and let you know thereafter," Singhvi told reporters while replying to queries about Gandhi's comments carried by Britain's Guardian newspaper.
Another party spokesman Manish Tewari, who read out Dwivedi's statement, said that 'terrorism had no religion or community'.
"Fighting terrorism is the duty of every Indian. Congress always believes in this," Tewari said.
Gandhi last year told US Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer that 'the growth of radicalised Hindu groups' may be a 'bigger threat' to India than support to some Islamic terror groups from the Muslim community, according to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.
The Congress MP said that although 'there was evidence of some support for (Islamic terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba) among certain elements in India's indigenous Muslim community, the bigger threat may be the growth of radicalised Hindu groups, which create religious tensions and political confrontations with the Muslim community', the Guardian reported on Friday.
On the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reaction that Gandhi's comments were irresponsible, Singhvi said the opposition party kept making such statements.
"Do people listen to such allegations," Singhvi asked.
BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad had earlier said: "BJP condemns the statement, which is irresponsible. If Rahul is worried about Hindu terror, he must speak in Parliament...It shows how little he knows about India."