Zeenews Bureau
Bhopal: Hitting out at Union Home Minister P Chidambaram for his "saffron terrorism" remark, BJP President Nitin Gadkari Thursday said it is a ploy by the Congress to "appease minorities" for vote bank politics.
"I do not believe that there is any such thing as saffron
terrorism. The Congress talks about it only for its vote bank
politics...Long back, secularism used to mean respect for all
religions, but for Congress today it means only appeasement of
minorities," Gadkari told a press conference here.
"Terrorists are terrorists irrespective of their religion
and it won`t be proper to classify them on that basis," he
said.
Gadkari said the UPA government was very lax in dealing
with terrorists.
"It is expected that the government would deal firmly and
strongly with terrorists but it is not doing so," he said.
At a function in New Delhi yesterday, Chidambaram had
said, "There is the recently uncovered phenomenon of saffron
terrorism that has been implicated in many bomb blasts of the
past."
Attacking the Centre for failing to curb Naxalism,
Gadkari said the menace was prevalent in 230 districts of the
country.
"Naxalism now exists in the country from Pashupatinath to
Kanyakumari," he said.
’Chose words before speaking’
BJP today asked Union
Home Minister P Chidambaram to carefully choose his words
before speaking and demanded an apology for his `saffron
terrorism` remark.
"HM should maintain full caution in selection of words
... he should apologise for his saffron terrorism remarks,"
BJP spokesperson Ravishankar Prasad told reporters here.
He further said "Saffron is the country`s pride... it is
a religious cloth of shankaracharyas, sadhus and saints.. it
is also the symbol of Indian culture."
Prasad was here to participate in a BJP workers meet.
The `saffron terror` issue was raked up in the Rajya
Sabha today by the BJP, and though it found itself isolated
the House witnessed two adjournments over the matter.
VHP demands apology from Chidambaram
After the Congress distanced itself from the ‘saffron terror’ remarks of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, the Vshwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) demanded an apology from him.
Speaking at a press conference, VHP leader Ashok Singhal said that such a remark is unacceptable and Chidambaram should apologise for hurting the sentiments of Hindus.
Singhal also reiterated that Ram temple must be built on the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya.
It should be noted that the verdict on Ram Janmabhoomi- Babri Masjid issue is expected in the mid of September and VHP is gearing up for that.
With PTI Inputs
