Lucknow, July 13: A day after the Uttar Pradesh police chief said raids were being conducted at hideouts of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) on suspicion of
its links with the Mumbai blasts, the state's ruling Samajwadi Party today virtually gave the outlawed group a clean chit, saying it was not a "terrorist organisation".
"SIMI is not a terrorist organisation. Some of its members may be involved in terrorist activities and action should be taken against them," Samajwadi Party state general secretary and state PWD minister Shivpal Singh Yadav told reporters here.
Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav also appeared to take a soft stand on the outfit, saying it had not been found to be involved in the Varanasi blasts and the terrorist attack in Ayodhya.
"SIMI was not found to be involved in the two main terrorist incidents in the state," Mulayam told reporters in an informal chat here.
"There is, however, a central ban on SIMI and it is being enforced in the state," he hastened to add.
State police chief Bua Singh had yesterday said that SIMI was under the scanner. Besides the raids at its hideouts, notices had been issued to its absconding activists, he said.
The West Bengal government too has ordered a crack down on SIMI, which was outlawed in 2001.
Meanwhile, the Congress sharply criticised the Chief
Minister and his younger brother, state PWD Minister Shivpal
Singh Yadav, for giving a "clean chit" to SIMI.
Alleging that the state government had opposed the ban on
SIMI, Congress spokesman Akhilesh Pratap Singh said his party
had, under the Right to Information Act, sought the letters
written by the state to the Centre that advocated the lifting
of the ban on the group.
"When SIMI is under the scanner for triggering blasts in
Mumbai, a clean chit to the outfit by the Chief Minister and
his brother is dangerous for internal security," Singh said in
a statement here.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, July 13, 2006, 00:00