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Congress tried to ‘make Hindus appear as terrorists’ after Malegaon blast: Devendra Fadnavis
Devendra Fadnavis claims the conspiracy against RSS and Hindutvadis is now being exposed following the recent acquittal of all accused in the case.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday alleged that the Congress had tried to paint Hindus as terrorists after the 2008 Malegaon blast and officer-bearers of the RSS and Hindutvadis were targeted in a planned manner.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Nagpur, Fadnavis claimed the then UPA government indulged in vote bank politics and coined terms like "Hindu terror" and "Bhagwa Aatankwad" (saffron terrorism) when terror attacks were taking place in the world, which were by Islamic extremists.
Asked about a former ATS officer's claim that he was ordered to arrest RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in the blast case, the chief minister said the conspiracy behind the case is being exposed before everyone.
A special court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted all seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Purohit, in the blast case, noting that there was "no reliable and cogent evidence" against them.
Fadnavis said the Hindu terror theory was created to show a particular community that the government was doing a balancing act.
He said this was a conspiracy to target office-bearers of the RSS and Hindutvadis, and some of them were arrested as well. However, no evidence was found against them.
"I think that now their conspiracy is being exposed. Islamic terror was there that time, and is present now as well, but no one said all Muslims are terrorists. However, the Congress had made attempts to make all Hindus appear as terrorists at that time," said Fadnavis.
