WikiLeaks release: BJP has a habit of politicising issues, says Tiwari

NEW DELHI - Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari on Friday slammed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over their reaction to Rahul Gandhi’s statement on radical Hindu groups, which was released by WikiLeaks cable, saying they have a habit of politicising issues.

“The BJP should act responsibly on the issues of national importance. I think that Bharatiya Janata Party seriously needs to introspect about the crass politicization, which it undertakes of the sensitive issues which have a bearing on national interest,” Tiwari told reporters about whistleblower website WikiLeaks’ latest revelation of Rahul Gandhi’s statement.

Tiwari further said the BJP unnecessarily politicise religious matters and communalise the political matters.

“Bharatiya Janata Party has a habit of communalising and politicising everything. Congress has always maintained that terrorism does not have any religion, terrorism does not have any caste and to fight terrorism is the duty of every Indian citizen. This is what Congress has always believed in,” he added.

Further giving clarification on the WikiLeaks revelation, Tiwari reading from a press release said: “Gandhi’s view was that terrorism and communalism of all types are a threat to India, and citizens needed to remain vigilant against acts of terrorism of all kinds.”

Condemning Gandhi’s remarks, the BJP earlier today pointed out that while the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has often said that Naxalism and cross-border terror pose the biggest threat to India’s internal security, Gandhi had in one stroke, given a ‘big leverage’ to the propaganda of all terror groups in Pakistan.

“The statement underscores how little Rahul Gandhi knows about India. The PM has publicly acknowledged that Maoism and the terrorist threat from across the border are the biggest challenges before India, and Rahul Gandhi says certain lunatic, marginalised Hindu radical groups are the biggest threat?” said BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad.

“It is irresponsible. It is in the public domain and the US Government has neither denied nor confirmed it. Therefore, it has sanctity. In one stroke, Rahul Gandhi has sought to give a big leverage to the propaganda of all terror groups operating from Pakistan and certain segments of the Pakistan establishment,” he added.

Prasad further said such remarks encroach upon India’s strategic security and fight against terrorism.

“If he sees a fringe radical Hindu group as the biggest threat in spite of so many terrorist attacks, including 26/11 in which involvement of Pakistani groups is confirmed, then it only underscores how ignorant he is about India and its problems,” he added.

The BJP also pulled up Gandhi for making such remarks to a foreign diplomat and not before the Indian Parliament and said the opposition would take up the issue in next Parliament session and also before the people.

Senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar said Gandhi’s remarks shows ‘crass communalism and jaundiced world view’.

According to a secret US diplomatic cable from New Delhi released by WikiLeaks, at a luncheon hosted by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at his residence in July 2009, Rahul Gandhi was asked by the US ambassador about LeT’s activities in the region and immediate threat to India, to which he said there was evidence of some support for the group among certain elements in India’s indigenous Muslim community, the cable notes.

“However, Gandhi warned, the bigger threat may be the growth of radicalised Hindu groups, which create religious tensions and political confrontations with the Muslim community,” the cable says. (ANI)