New Delhi: Hitting back at the BJP, Congress on Wednesday said there is "no dilution" of its stand against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism but wanted the Modi government to get its act together in the wake of the terror boat incident.
Days after it raised doubts over BJP's claim that the boat was carrying terrorists, inviting a sharp reaction from the ruling party, Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma sought to make it clear that his party has always been "in the forefront to fight terrorism".
At the same time, he slammed as "churlish and irresponsible" BJP president Amit Shah's remarks whether Congress was contesting elections in India or Pakistan.
"There should be no doubt that when it comes to terrorism, Congress has always been in the forefront to fight terrorism to defeat terrorism and we have been very clear.
"There is infrastructure of terror and organizations operating from Pakistan territory which have to be dismantled. This has been our consistent position whether in power or out of power. There is no dilution of that and the country has to speak in one voice," Sharma said in a statement.
He, however noted that at the same time it is incumbent upon the government and government agencies to speak in one voice.
"Government agencies have spoken in different voices and more important if we you look at the statement of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar day before yesterday and the Home Minister yesterday, there is contradiction in the statement.
"So the government should place the facts before the country and the Home Minister and the Defence Minister should consult each other before making statements which creates confusion," Sharma said.
He alleged that it confirms "arrogance" and also portrays the ruling party as "irresponsible".
"We also have a history of fighting terrorism and making the supreme sacrifices. Our leaders including Indira and Rajiv Gandhi were martyred. We do not need a certificate on patriotism either from Amit Shah, the BJP or the RSS....They should not arrogate to themselves the right to give the certificate who is patriotic and who is not," he said.
