New Delhi: In what is likely to cause a huge embarrassment for Congress, former chairman of India's Joint Intelligence Committee and ex-deputy national security advisor Dr SD Pradhan has claimed that the term 'Hindu terror' was coined by former home minister P Chidambaram to reap political benefits.
Pradhan disclosed that Intelligence Bureau had first hand information of the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast. The ex-Joint Intelligence Committee member said that IB and JIC still have the official papers regarding the inputs on the 'possible' train blast.
He further said that the United States of America had also warned of the blast. “There is 100 percent involvement of Pakistan in the Samjhauta Express blast and no Indian was involved. The probe was diverted due to political reasons,” he categorically stated.
Speaking exclusively to IBN Khabar, Pradhan said that LeT financier Arif Kasmani's name was shared by the officials and the security officials had prior information on him. Kasmani is believed to have funded the Samjhauta Express blast.
The ex-intelligence officer revealed that the probe was twisted in both Samjhauta Express blast and the Ishrat Jahan encounter case. He said the files, which were received in August 2009, were completely changed in September-October. Pradhan maintained that the matter was changed due to some specific aim.
Disclosing further, Pradhan said the Congress-led UPA won the 2009 General Elections, but they knew that in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Narendra Modi and RSS will come out strongly. According to Pradhan, this was the sole reason why then home minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram used the term 'Hindu terror' in the Rajya Sabha. He stated that after this episode the probe in Samjhauta and Ishrat Jahan cases were given a new angle.
Pradhan described Chidambaram as a very sharp person and accused him of giving a saffron colour to the Samjhauta blast. He further said that the National Investigating Agency (NIA) was created keeping in mind a specific objective.
Chidambaram personally overlooked the hiring process in NIA. He used to pick and choose the officers so that they worked according to their boss' wishes, Pradhan maintained.
