Gujarat riots led to Indian Mujahideen's emergence, says Congress; BJP fumes

NEW DELHI: Congress on Sunday blamed Gujarat riots for creation of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen, a remark slammed as "reprehensible" by BJP which accused it of playing the communal card for vote bank politics.


"Indian Mujahideen (IM) was formed after the Gujarat riots, says NIA in its charge sheet. Even now BJP and RSS will not desist from their communal politics?," Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed said on microblogging site Twitter.

Hitting back, BJP said the remarks were "stupid" and "reprehensible" as the Pakistan links of such outfits were well known and alleged that it was a "desperate" Congress which was actually trying to communalise the political scenario and playing with national security as it had "no answers for all the wrongs" it had done.

When contacted, the Congress General Secretary blamed the "communal politics of BJP for the chain reaction" on the issue of terror.

"This (2002 riots) was the reason behind the creation of Indian Mujahideen. If they foresake their communal politics, outfits like IM will cease to exist," Ahmed said.

BJP said it was well know that Pakistan has been aiding and abetting terror outfits that are active in India.

"There is this competition among the various Congress spokespersons and leaders to deliberately communalise the country's political scenario, because they have no answer to stinking corruption, malgovernance, price rice, unemployment, the general sense of suffering the people of India are having," Deputy Leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha Ravishankar Prasad said.

He said terror outfits were active in the country before the 2002 riots also.

"Why are they playing with national security. Is it not a fact that IM has links with Pakistan-based terrorist outfits.... Is it not a fact that much before 2002, there was SIMI with designs to usher in terrorist attacks in India. These are all too well known. Please dont's play with national security.

"This competitive politics for vote bank to deliberately stoke communalism is reprehensible," he said.