Amid the BJP's charge on the Congress-led UPA governments of fabricating "Saffron Terror" narrative, Congress MP Digvijaya Singh on Thursday rejected the allegations and said that terrorism has no colour, and he with party leader Janardan Dwivedi, opposed the use of such a term.
Speaking to ANI after the NIA Court acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon Blast case, Singh there must be someone guilty if all of the accused are acquitted.
He also alleged that BJP leader RK Singh was the one who called it "Sangh terror", who was further elevated as Minister by his party.
"Congress is being accused of mentioning 'Hindu terror or Sangh terror.' But who called it 'Sangh terror'? RK Singh. BJP made him an MP after retirement. They made him a Minister. He coined the terms 'Sangh terror' and 'Saffron terror.' Why is the BJP silent on that? All I would like to say is that even when it was called 'Sangh terror' or 'Saffron terror' at that time, Janardan Dwivedi and I opposed it — that terrorism has no colour. Terrorism is seen only among those who indulge in such things out of hatred," Digvijaya Singh said.
"So, I would like to say that there must be someone who is guilty. If all of them are acquitted, then who is guilty?" the senior Congress leader told ANI.
He also pointed out that the NIA, sometime back, produced a lengthy document as evidence before the court, but it could not produce any concrete evidence against the accused.
"... The court said that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) could not produce any concrete evidence against the accused. Whereas, sometime back, the NIA produced an 1110-page document as evidence before the Court. It was demanded that the guilty be awarded a death sentence... It is certain that despite all such incidents, nobody was awarded punishment," Digvijaya said.
He, further reiterating the court's statement, said that it is inappropriate to link terrorism to any religion.
"...Court has said that terrorism cannot be linked to any religion. I had been saying this from the beginning. Every religion teaches love, harmony, truth and non-violence. So, it is inappropriate to link it to religion. It (terrorism) is the mindset of an individual; action should be taken against this. Even today, two people are absconding--Ramji Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange. They have a reward of Rs 10 Lakh each on their heads. Where are they? Why are they not being nabbed? This is a question too," Singh said.
The 2008 Malegaon blast case was transferred to the NIA in 2011 from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). After a 17-year-long wait and examination of hundreds of witnesses, the NIA special court today acquitted all seven people accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and all other charges.
Mumbai's NIA special court on Thursday acquitted all seven accused of being involved in the 2008 Malegaon blasts, with the court saying that the prosecution failed to establish the case beyond a reasonable doubt. The NIA court has also ordered the Maharashtra government to award Rs 2 lakh compensation to the families of the victims and Rs 50,000 compensation to the injured.
A total of 7 people were accused, including former MP Sadhvi Pragya, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhankar Dhar Dwivedi (Shankaracharya) and Sameer Kulkarni.
Soon after the verdict, Bharatiya Janata Party top leaders accused the Congress-led UPA government of setting a narrative of "Hindu terror" and "Saffron Terror".
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis demanded an apology from the Congress for using terms like "Hindu terrorism" after the NIA Court acquitted all seven accused in the Malegaon Blast Case.
Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde welcomed the NIA court's verdict acquitting all seven accused in the Malegaon Blast Case, saying that innocent people were held in jail for an "extremely long time".
Speaking to the media, Shinde also slammed the opposition, saying that this is a slap on the face of those who called the incident "saffron terror."
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Praful Patel refuted the term "Bhagwa Atankwad", claiming that the term was used only during the time of Congress.
"Bhagwa Atankwad' is not a word; this word was used only during the time of Congress, which was politically motivated," Patel claimed while talking to the media.
Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske welcomed the acquittal of all seven accused in the Malegaon Blast Case, further accusing the Congress of spreading misunderstanding among the people in the name of Hindu terror.
Speaking to ANI, Mhaske said, "The Congress government took action to spread the misunderstanding among the people in the name of Hindu terror."
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