Prove your claim or take back statement: Azam Khan to Rahul Gandhi

ALIGARH: UP minister Azam Khan today hit out at Rahul Gandhi for his remarks that Pakistani agencies were in touch with some Muzaffarnagar riot victims, asking him to either prove his claim or withdraw the statement.

"Rahul Gandhi is speaking the language of RSS. He should either provide evidence for his allegations or immediately withdraw his statement," Azam said at a gathering, which was also addressed by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

In a public rally at Indore in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh on October, Rahul had said that intelligence agencies in Pakistan were approaching some victims of Muzaffarnagar riots.

He had said he was told by an intelligence official that intelligence agencies of Pakistan had established contact with a group of 10-15 Muslim youngsters, who had lost their kin in the riots.

The Uttar Pradesh Police had said it had no information about the claim but would verify it.

Azam also attacked RSS, alleging that the organisation was trying to fan hatred against Muslim community by spreading false propaganda.

Admitting that there were several incidents of communal flare-up in the state during SP rule, Azam, however, said "people should understand" that fascist forces, which cannot digest existence of a secular government, were behind them.

"There were very few communal flare ups during regimes led by BJP and also the BSP, because the fascist forces were not interested in destabilising these governments," he added.

Azam said the people, however, understand that the country can never be run successfully by a political party which does not accept the concept of religious pluralism.

Azam also alleged that Congress was not serious regarding the restoration of the minority character for AMU.

"If they were serious, they would have introduced a bill in Parliament in this regard," he said.