Congress should apologise for saffron terror tag, says Fadnavis after Malegaon verdict

An explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon town, 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008, killing six persons

MUMBAI: As a special court acquitted seven persons accused of the Malegaon bomb blast that killed six people in 2008, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis mounted a sharp attack on the Congress and demanded an apology for “coming up with a false narrative of saffron terrorism”.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis arrives at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai (PTI FILE PHOTO)

“The court’s verdict to acquit all the accused in the Malegaon bomb blast case exposes the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s conspiracy to insult Hindus by coining the term saffron terrorism,” Fadnavis told reporters hours after the special court for National Investigation Agency (NIA) cases delivered its decision.

An explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon town, 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008, killing six persons and injuring 100 others. The case was transferred from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) to the NIA in 2011. Among the seven accused were former Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit.

Deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena president Eknath Shinde said the term “saffron terrorism” was part of Congress’s conspiracy to defame the Hindu community.

“Hindus can never engage in anti-national activities, because patriotism is a sacred duty for those who follow Hinduism. The absurd term “Hindu terrorism” was coined by conspiratorial Congress leaders. What answer do they have now for such blatant falsehoods?” Shinde said.

“The stigma on the Hindu community has been wiped off. The slogan “Say with pride that we are Hindus” will now resonate across the country with a hundredfold louder voice. Truth may be troubled, but can never be defeated,” Shinde added, crediting the verdict for ending a dark chapter.

The Congress hit back, linking the court verdict to investigators botching up the case under political pressure. Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal also asked if the state government would appeal against the verdict the way they did when the 12 convicted for the 2006 Mumbai train bombings were acquitted by the Bombay high court on July 21.

“These people even view terrorism through a political lens. Those associated with the BJP and RSS had, for their political gain, labelled martyr Hemant Karkare a traitor. Wasn’t it the same political mindset that led to (special public prosecutor) Rohini Salian being asked to take a lenient stand against the accused and slow down the investigation? Witnesses were enticed with offers. A witness like Randhir Singh was even given a ministerial position in Jharkhand,” said Sachin Sawant, senior spokesperson, Maharashtra Congress.

Sawant said the government should be upset that individuals behind a terror incident were free. “Honestly, this verdict did not come as a surprise because the NIA had already given them a clean chit. The government should consider renaming this investigative agency as the ‘NaMo Investigation Agency’,” he added.

Sapkal stressed that terrorism didn’t have a religion or colour and the government should ensure that justice was delivered in the Malegaon blast case. “As soon as the verdict of the 2006 bomb blast was announced, the state government challenged it before the Supreme Court. Will the state government show the same will in this case as both were acts of terror and the perpetrators of the cases should face justice,” Sapkal said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant said the court’s comment that there was no evidence is a serious matter. “If there was no evidence against Sadhvi Pragya and others, why did they suffer all these years. It was an injustice with them. However, since the incident did occur, someone must have been involved in it. Who are they? Why can’t investigation agencies catch them?” said Sawant.

AIMIM’s former MP Imtiyaz Jalil said that the bomb blast was aimed at creating communal divide in the country and the case was investigated by one of the country’s finest officers, Hemant Karkare. The BJP, he said, has tried to derive political advantage from the case.