Shinde sees terror in BJP, RSS camps, Sangh says apologise

Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Sunday accused the BJP and RSS of conducting terror training camps and promoting "Hindu terrorism", inviting protests by the two outfits and calls for an apology from Sonia Gandhi.

"On one hand we are trying to bring peace. We are also taking steps against injustice towards minorities as also against infiltration. But, in the midst of all this, we have got an investigation report that be it the RSS or BJP, their training camps are promoting Hindu terrorism. We are keeping a strict vigil on all this," Shinde said at the AICC session during the Chintan Shivir in Jaipur.

He talked about the Samjhauta Express, Mecca Masjid and the Malegaon blasts, in which involvement of right-wing extremists is suspected. "We will have to think about it seriously and will have to remain alert," he said.

Attacking Shinde, BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters in Delhi, "Their (Congress's) destructive mindset is reflected in the statement of the Home Minister. The statement is very objectionable. It's not only unacceptable but also dangerous."

It was aimed at disrupting peace and harmony, he added.

The BJP also demanded an immediate apology from the Congress leadership. "Sonia Gandhi should apologise. Rahul Gandhi and Home Minister should also apologise, otherwise there will be serious consequences... Such baseless things when said by the Home Minister amount to giving a clean chit to real terrorists," Naqvi said. "Home Minister must apologise to the nation for his comments", Sushma Swaraj tweeted.

Accusing the Congress of being silent to terror strikes from across the border while castigating a "nationalist organisation" like the RSS, Naqvi added: "Sometimes I feel the Congress has become a kayaron ki jamaat (group of cowards)."

Attacked by the BJP, Shinde stuck to his guns. "This is saffron terrorism that I have talked about. It is the same thing and nothing new. It has come in the media several times," he said.

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