Bajrang Dal to file defamation case against Digvijay Singh over 'payment from ISI' remark

The reaction from the Bajrang Dal convenor shortly after Digvijaya Singh accused the BJP of receiving money from Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

BHOPAL: Bajrang Dal will file a defamation case against senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh for alleging that the members of the right-wing outfit were working for Pakistan's spy agency ISI and were receiving money from it. 

Bajrang Dal national convenor Sohan Solanki said, ''We strongly condemn Digvijay Singh's statement. We will take legal action and file a defamation case against him.''

Calling Digvijay Singh as 'anti-Hindu', Solanki said that the Congress leader has lost his political relevance and, by making such statements, he wants to further alienate his Congress party.''

The reaction from the Bajrang Dal convenor came shortly after Digvijaya Singh accused the BJP and the right-wing outfit of receiving money from Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

"Bajrang Dal and BJP are taking money from the ISI. Attention should be paid to this," Singh had said on Friday. 

Singh also gave a communal dimension to his claim saying, "Non-Muslims are spying for Pakistan`s ISI more than Muslims. This should be understood." 

The BJP in Madhya Pradesh has been under fire from the Opposition since last Wednesday after five persons were arrested in Satna district in a terror-funding racket managed by ISI operatives based in Pakistan. One of those arrested is a Bajrang Dal leader called Balram Singh. 

The five arrested were found to have communicated with their handlers using an app which does not keep any record of the messages it sends, according to the police.

Two years ago, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leader Dhruv Saxena was arrested in a similar case of espionage and terror-funding in Satna. The accused later got bail. Balram Singh was also a part of this gang. The remark by Digvijaya Singh led to a furore and his name started trending on social media. 

However, Singh in a tweet on Sunday denied accusing the BJP of spying for the ISI in return for money, despite TV channels running recordings of his Friday`s statement. 

In his subsequent tweet, however, he said the MP Police had arrested Bajrang Dal and BJP IT cell workers spying for Pakistan in return for money. "This is the charge I made and I stand by it. Why don't the TV channels question the BJP on this," he tweeted.