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Jharkhand Congress MLA lauds Taliban, BJP mounts attack
Bharatiya Janata Party’s chief whip in the House, Biranchi Narayan, said the legislator’s remarks were a mere reflection of the “Talibani mindset of the Congress”.
A Congress legislator in Jharkhand on Friday stirred up a controversy after he claimed that the Taliban should be praised for “having done a good job in forcing the United States to leave Afghanistan”.
“They (Taliban) should be lauded, as they chased the Americans out of Afghanistan. We all know the kind of excesses the American forces used to commit in Afghanistan,” Irfan Ansari, a two-term Congress MLA from Jamtara, told reporters after the first day of the monsoon session of Jharkhand assembly.
When a few reporters pointed out that he was praising a front which was widely viewed as a terrorist organisation, Ansari said, “Yes, they are a terrorist organisation, but they have been revolutionary in forcing the American occupational forces to leave that country.”
Bharatiya Janata Party’s chief whip in the House, Biranchi Narayan, said the legislator’s remarks were a mere reflection of the “Talibani mindset of the Congress”.
“He is speaking this language because the Congress party itself has a Talibani mindset. He is supporting a terrorist organisation that is known for cruelty against women and minorities. Several of our mothers and sisters and others are fleeing Afghanistan because of fear. Does Ansari want to see similar things happening here?” Narayan said.
Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur said he would comment on the issue after speaking to the legislator. “I have heard about the issue only through media. It is his personal view. I will be able to comment on it with clarity only after speaking to the legislator and act accordingly,” he added.
The situation in Afghanistan has been deteriorating ever since the Taliban seized control of the war-ravaged country, following the withdrawal of the US troops last month.
On August 15, the Afghan government fell soon after President Ashraf Ghani left the country.
