Digvijay refutes MP Home Minister's claim over SIMI

BHOPAL: Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh today refuted Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Umashankar Gupta's claim that the activities of banned outfit SIMI had increased during his tenure as Chief Minister of the state.

"The Home Minister should know that there were almost no SIMI activities during the 10-year period from 1993 when I was Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh," he told PTI.

As Chief Minister I had recommended the Centre to impose a ban on SIMI, he said.

Instead of making false allegations against me, Gupta should contain fundamentalist forces he is trying to protect, he added.

Gupta had on Wednesday said that SIMI activities had increased during Singh's tenure, but the BJP had curbed the movements of the outfit after coming to power.