Sushil Kumar Shinde's statement has weakened fight against terrorism: CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today said Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde's statement accusing BJP and RSS of fanning "Hindu terrorism" had weakened India's fight against terrorism.

"Neither BJP nor Congress is above the country and therefore Shinde's statement has weakened India's fight against terrorism and will give the nation's enemy an advantage on the issue," Chouhan told reporters here.

"For narrow political gains, the country's rights are being sacrificed and Shinde has put the entire nation in the dock. It was a highly irresponsible statement from the Home Minister," the BJP leader said.

"I am unable to understand why the Home Minister spoke in such a language. The country will have to suffer because of it," he said.

The consequences of Shinde's statement would be dangerous and the country would have to pay heavily for it, Chouhan warned.

The Chief Minister expressed surprise over the way Congress was rallying behind Shinde on the issue and also criticised Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh for using words like 'Ji' and 'Sahib' for terrorists.

Some newspapers were earlier quoted as saying that Digvijay Singh had referred most wanted person JuD chief as "Hafiz Saeed Sahib" and slain al-Qaeda chief as "OsamaJi."

BJP general secretary and state party unit president Narendra Singh Tomar also expressed similar views and demanded Shinde's sacking over the issue.