New Delhi, July 31 (UNI) Hailing the NIA court’s verdict acquitting all accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case as “historic”, the BJP today slammed the Congress, asserting that its theory of “Hindu terrorism” has been completely discredited.
The BJP demanded a public apology from Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for perpetuating this false narrative and demanded compensation for the discharged accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit.
Addressing the media here, senior BJP leader and party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Today is a historic day. The conspiracy of the Congress party to forcibly impose the narrative of ‘Hindu terrorism’ on the country has been shattered.”
He said, “On behalf of the BJP, we say with humility but conviction that the Congress party concocted the term ‘Bhagwa Atankwad’ (saffron terror) and relentlessly sought to implicate innocent people in fabricated cases. The prosecution should also apologise for allegedly using torture and planting evidence to frame them”.
Criticising Rahul Gandhi’s recent response, Prasad said, “When questioned, Rahul Gandhi evaded by saying, ‘Don’t distract, let’s talk about Adani’. Why is he running away from the truth? If anyone claims that Hindu terrorism is more dangerous than Lashkar-e-Taiba or Pakistan-sponsored terror, shouldn’t he respond? We demand that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi apologise to the nation for propagating the term ‘Bhagwa Atank’.”
Nearly 17 years after the Malegaon blast claimed six lives, a special court in Mumbai acquitted all seven accused, including former Thakur and Purohit, noting there was “no reliable and cogent evidence” against them. The BJP leader also hailed Thakur and Purohit respectively as a saint and decorated officer who fought terrorism in Kashmir.
Slamming Rahul Gandhi, former Home Ministers P Chidambaram and Sushil Kumar Shinde during the UPA tenure for coining and promoting the term ‘saffron terror’, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “The Congress will go to any lengths for vote-bank politics. This was a premeditated strategy hatched solely to divide the nation. But the truth cannot be hidden forever.”
He further recalled, “The term ‘saffron terrorism’ was first introduced by then Home Minister P. Chidambaram during a DGP press conference. Later, former Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde also echoed this dangerous narrative.”
Alleging a deeper conspiracy, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Rahul Gandhi, in a conversation with American Rajput Timothy, stated that Hindu terrorism was even more dangerous than Lashkar-e-Taiba. This is documented in the Wikileaks cables.”
On the NIA court acquitting all accused in the Malegaon blast case, he said, the court found no evidence, not even the chassis number of the motorcycle cited as evidence. Witnesses confessed they were tortured and coerced into making false statements.
The BJP leader also accused Chidambaram of not only issuing “certificates” to Pakistan but also of conspiring to manufacture the ‘Bhagwa terror’ narrative as Home Minister. “Why is Rahul Gandhi running away from the truth? Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi must apologise to the nation. Will the prosecution apologise as well?” he questioned.
