TMC seeks probes into ‘presence of terrorist at BJP meet’, Udaipur hate crime

The BJP has denied the terrorist’s links with the party saying falsely implicating it was a new modus-operandi for Pakistan-based terror outfits

West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Tuesday demanded independent judicial probes into the alleged presence of a terrorist, who was arrested in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi on Sunday, at a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) meeting as well as into the killing of a tailor in Rajasthan’s Udaipur.

(AFP)

Bengal minister and TMC leader Sashi Panja displayed a photo purportedly showing Talib Hussain, the arrested terrorist, with BJP leaders including Union home minister Amit Shah. He claimed this exposed the BJP’s connections with terrorists. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the photograph.

The BJP on Sunday denied Hussain’s links with the party saying falsely implicating it was a new modus-operandi for Pakistan-based terror outfits.

Panja cited reports that Hussain was in-charge of the BJP’s minority morcha IT cell. “This is a very serious matter. We demand a judicial inquiry,” said Panja. He demanded another inquiry into the June 28 murder of Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor, in Udaipur. Lal was brutally murdered for allegedly supporting suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammed.

Panja also demanded Sharma’s arrest. “Even the Supreme Court has made strong observations against her but she is being protected by the BJP. The ruling dispensation has suspended her saying she is a fringe element. But it seems the fringe has become the BJP’s mainstream. It has spread communal hatred across India,” said Panja.

Cases have been filed against Sharma at two police stations in Kolkata but she has not responded to summons for appearance before the West Bengal Police citing risk to her life.

The BJP did not respond to the TMC’s demand for judicial probes.