 "BJP keeps close links with people caught in terror activities: Congress")
Senior Congress leaders on Saturday attacked the BJP, accusing it of maintaining close links' with individuals caught in terror activities.
Citing several instances that allegedly revealed the saffron party's connection with terrorists, Congress leaders in at least three cities in eastern India wondered how the saffron camp preach nationalism to citizens.
The Congress does not believe in playing politics over serious national issues like terrorism, party MP Ranjeet Ranjan said, addressing a press conference in Guwahati.
In Patna, senior Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam claimed that Riaz Attari, the prime accused in killing the Udaipur tailor, was also a BJP member. The case is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Congress leader Wing Commander Anuma Acharya (retd) alleged in Bhubaneswar that Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Talib Hussain Shah who had been captured by people and was later arrested was a BJP office-bearer in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Congress held press conferences in 23 cities across the country alleging that the BJP's nationalism claims are fake.
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Hitting back at the Congress, the BJP in New Delhi cited various past incidents to allege that the grand old party can join hands with even terrorists to be in power.
Multiple revelations of close links between the BJP and individuals caught in terror activities force us to ask some straight questions to a ruling party that loses no opportunity to preach to Indians about nationalism, Ranjan, a Rajya Sabha member, said.
She claimed that militant-turned-politician Niranjan Hojai is currently a BJP leader in Assam, even though he was convicted by an NIA court in 2017 in a case relating to diverting government money to fund terror activities.
In the same year, the Madhya Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested a BJP IT Cell member along with 10 accomplices for spying for ISI, the intelligence agency of Pakistan, Acharya claimed in Bhubaneswar.
Former BJP leader and ex-sarpanch Tariq Ahmad Mir of Jammu and Kashmir was arrested two years ago on the charge of terror funding, Nirupam said in Patna.
The three leaders also pointed out during press conferences that dreaded terrorist Masood Azhar was released by the BJP-led government in 1999 during the Kandahar hijacking. Azhar went on to found the Jaish-e-Muhammad terror group that was responsible for the 2001 Parliament attack and the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
The outfit also masterminded the 2019 Pulwama attack in which 44 CRPF personnel were killed, they said.
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