Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Aug 1: Former Union Health Minister and the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad today alleged that BJP was trying to divert the attention of the Nation and is trying to put a lid on its failure to fight terrorism effectively.
Taking to strong exception to the statement of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on “Hindu terror”, Mr Azad said it is an unsuccessful and cheap attempt of the BJP Government to divert attention of the people of this country from its failures to effectively deal with the menace of cross-border terrorism.
Lashing out on the BJP Government, Azad said that Home Minister has tried to put a lid on its failure to fight terrorism effectively. He reminded that the BJP and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha election campaign accused the UPA Government of being ‘soft’ on terror and Pakistan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP leadership promised a ‘strong-kneed’ approach to deal with Pakistan and terror.
However, after coming to power and during the 14 months of the BJP Govt there has been an unprecedented spurt in ceasefire violations and unprovoked firing on the borders by Pakistan, due to which people residing in those areas have been subjected to untold hardships without any pause.
Azad said that more than 800 ceasefire violations have taken place in J&K during the past more than one year, leading to scores of casualties, both of security personnel as well as the civilians. Drawing attention towards the spurt in terrorist violations, Azad said that four ghastly terror attacks have taken place during the past eight months in the State in which a number of security jawans, police personnel and civilians have lost their lives.
“This Government was not in a hurry to discuss the terror attacks when our jawans and civilians were killed in Arnia, Uri, Raj Bagh and Samba”, asked Azad adding the entire opposition used to shout from roof tops to urge the Govt to discuss heightened terrorist activities in J&K in the House and this Govt was never in a hurry to respond to the demands of the Opposition.”
Hitting out at the Home Minister for blaming the Congress Party to weaken the country’s stand against terrorism, Azad asserted that, India’s fight against terror got weakened long back when three dreaded terrorist were escorted to Kandahar by the former External Affairs Minister in the NDA-1 Government, and in a meek surrender handed over to the enemies of the country.
Azad reminded the Home Minister that it was the NDA Government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which shamefully decided to release three terrorists in 1999 for seeking release of the passengers on board the hijacked Air India flight.
Complimenting Dr Farooq Abdullah, the then Chief Minister of J&K for his stout refusal to agree to the release of the terrorists, Azad regretted that NDA Government forced him into submission, who had even offered to resign at that point of time.
“I spoke to Dr Farooq Abdullah today in the morning to seek a confirmation about the facts that have come in the public domain recently”, remarked Azad.
Azad asserted that Congress Party had lost a sitting Prime Minister to the bullets of the terrorists; one ex-Prime Minister, one Chief Minister, one former Union Minister and scores of leaders and workers of Congress Party have sacrificed their lives due to terrorist violence.
Commenting on the allegation of Home Minister Rajnath Singh, blaming Congress for coining the term ‘Hindu Terror’, Azad clarified that the then Home Minister wanted to educate the party cadres about terrorism being bereft of any colour or religion. Azad said that the then Home Minister of the UPA Govt, in the wake of increasing terrorist violence in the country, had tried to bring home the point that certain interested political parties are attributing it to a particular religion and using phrases like “Islamic terrorism”, “Muslim Terrorism”, etc. which is not correct as during the course of investigations in Mecca Masjid blast, Malegaon blast and other blasts, National Investigation Agency (NIA) had come to the conclusion that there were members of other religions who were involved in those blasts.
To explain that terror has no religion or colour, the then Home Minister had simply asked ” Would you call it Hindu terror?” and advised the party workers to be cautious about the attempts of some political parties to divide the country
“Terrorism is terrorism and it has no religion”, is the message which the then Home Minister wanted to convey, said Azad.
He also accused the BJP of picking up these remarks out of context to malign and defame the Congress Party and mislead the nation for cheap political gains.
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