BJP leader Giriraj Singh sparks a fresh row

PATNA/NEW DELHI: BJP leader Giriraj Singh landed in a fresh controversy today with his remarks that terrorists belong to a particular community and termed it as "naked example of pseudo secularism" when secular leaders remain silent on the issue, drawing sharp retorts from political parties.

Giriraj said,"Since terrorism is a matter relating to the country and not to a community, why secular leaders remain silent when all persons arrested in terrorism cases belong to a particular community.

"Are there only a few to define religious non- discrimination? Is it not true that all the terrorists caught belong to one community? I am not saying that all the people in that community are terrorists but whoever is caught belongs to the same community," he said.

Giriraj said this mindset was "posing a danger" to the country.

"This is a naked example of pseudo secularism and patronisation of a community for vote bank politics. This mindset is posing danger to the country," said the Nawada Lok Sabha candidate of the saffron party.

During the recent poll campaign, Jharkhand and Bihar police had lodged three FIRs against Singh for saying that those opposed to Narendra Modi had no place in India and they should go to Pakistan.

Deprecating his remarks as "unfortunate", some political parties demanded that the BJP leader should be "disenfranchised" while others warned that BJP and its leaders were out to "ruin" the country.

Launching a scathing attack on Giriraj and BJP, Congress said the party should stop him from making such remarks.

"Terrorism comes in different forms. Terrorism of thoughts is just as bad as terrorism of guns. Giriraj should reflect on that. What he says, when he says and how he said it he should reflect on what its impact is. This country will not accept that religion can be equated with terrorist crime," Union minister Salman Khurshid said.

Another Congress leader Rashid Ali said that terrorists who have been caught till now do not belong to any one particular community and attacked the BJP, saying even Sadhvi Pragya is also included in that category.