Rahul’s ‘radical Hindu groups’ comments irresponsible: BJP

NEW DELHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday hit out as “irresponsible” Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s comment in diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks that radical Hindu groups were a “bigger threat” than the Muslim community supporting some terror groups.

“BJP condemns the statement, which is irresponsible. If Rahul is worried about Hindu terror, he must speak in parliament…It shows how little he knows about India,” BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters.

Prasad also questioned the purpose behind Rahul Gandhi speaking on the issue with an ambassador of a foreign country.

Gandhi last year told US Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer that “the growth of radicalised Hindu groups” may be a “bigger threat” to India than support to some Islamic terror groups from the Muslim community, according to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.

Gandhi told Roemer that although “there was evidence of some support for (Islamic terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba) among certain elements in India’s indigenous Muslim community, the bigger threat may be the growth of radicalised Hindu groups, which create religious tensions and political confrontations with the Muslim community”, the Guardian reported Friday.

BJP leader Prakash Javadekar said Gandhi’s comment shows that he wants to identify terror with religion and is ignorant about Indian civilisation.

“Terror is terror, it must not be translated into vote bank politics. Terror should be investigated and guilty must be punished,” he added.