Indian Express

Sushilkumar Shinde 'reaches out' to BJP over Hindu terror remark

Express news service Posted online: Thu Feb 14 2013, 01:31 hrs
New Delhi : With the BJP indicating that it will not hesitate to obstruct the crucial forthcoming Budget Session of Parliament over Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde's Hindu terror remark, the BJP is learnt to have got feelers from the Home Minister that is ready to retract his statements.

Sources on Wednesday said Shinde had reached out to the BJP leadership indicating his willingness to amend his stance on this issue. Party leaders claimed that the Home Minister has indicated about making a vague statement to assuage the saffron camp on this issue. However, the BJP leadership was learnt to have indicated that it will not accept anything short of a "regret" from Shinde.

Party leaders, in this context, highlighted that the onus was still on the Home Minister to express categorical regret to buy peace with the principal opposition party ahead of the Budget Session. The BJP has announced to boycott Shinde in meetings in his role as the Leader of the Lok Sabha.

BJP’s move, in fact, was guided under pressure from the Sangh Parivar. Top RSS and VHP leaders had met top BJP leaders a fortnight back stressing the need to pin down the Home Minister for his remarks of Hindu terror.

Speaking to party workers during Congress’s brainstorming conclave at Jaipur last month, Shinde had alleged that the BJP and the RSS were running saffron terror camps.

Samjhauta accused on hunger strike

PANCHKULA: Prime accused in the Samjhauta blast case Swami Aseemanand and co-accused Kamal Chauhan on Wednesday started their three-day hunger strike at Central Jail Ambala over the recent Hindu terror remarks by Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. Jail officials said later in the day they checked the health of Aseemanand and Chauhan, but their health was stated to be normal. ENS