Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday asked why Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra stopped at Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar and Naseeruddin Shah and did not include Chidambaram in the list when he termed them as the ‘sleeper cells’ of the tukde-tukde gang. "I had declared in Parliament that I was a member of the tukde-tukde gang," the Congress MP said adding that Narottam Mishra should become the Union home minister since he has information which even the ministry of home affairs did not have.
Narottam Mishra who is known for his controversial statements recently called Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar and Naseeruddin Shah 'sleeper cells' of tukde-tukde gang commenting on a television interview of Shaban Azmi where she broke down while talking about the Bilkis Bano rape case.
"The case is..this Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar and Naseeruddin Shah are sleeper cells of the tukde tukde gang. They did not say anything on the beheading of Kanhaiya Lal in Rajasthan. In Jharkhand, our daughter has been set on fire. But did they say anything? Only when something happens in BJP-ruled states, they issue statements," Narottam Mishra said.
{{/usCountry}}"The case is..this Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar and Naseeruddin Shah are sleeper cells of the tukde tukde gang. They did not say anything on the beheading of Kanhaiya Lal in Rajasthan. In Jharkhand, our daughter has been set on fire. But did they say anything? Only when something happens in BJP-ruled states, they issue statements," Narottam Mishra said.
{{/usCountry}}Reacting to Mishra's statement, Chidambaram recalled that the Union home ministry had no data available on tukde-tukde gang, though BJP leaders use the phrase often. "I had also pointed out that in the answer to a question, the MHA said that the government had "no information" on the tukde-tukde gang! If the Home Minister of MP has more information than the Union Home Minister, he should be appointed as the Union Home Minister!" Chidambaram tweeted.
In February this year, Chidambaram, in Parliament, said this is a no-data government. In his reply to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget, Chidambaram said, "I am a member of the 'Tukde Tukde' gang, which means ‘disruption’. I am worried because in this parliament, a question was asked ‘who are members of the tukde tukde gang?' and the honourable minister said ‘we have no data available on tukde tukde gang’."