By IANS,
New Delhi : The Congress Tuesday defended the government on Hindutva activist Swami Aseemanand’s leaked confession about his role in the 2007 Samjhauta train blast, saying that a democratic nation “doesn’t sweep things under the carpet”.
“The difference between a democratic state and a non-transparent state is that a democratic state does not sweep things under the carpet. That is the manner in which a democracy gets strengthened,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari told reporters here.
He was responding to the criticism by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on leaking the confessional statement to the media aimed at diverting attention from several issues of corruption to the Samjhauta Express blast.
Tewari said that the Saffron parties should reflect on why Hindutva terror activists draw support from the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
“The BJP and RSS should reflect as to why organizations and individuals allegedly involved in terror draw support and sympathy of the ideology of RSS-BJP combine. They should seriously introspect. They should see that such ideologies need to be purged,” he said.
Swami Aseemanand has reportedly confessed before a magistrate to his involvement in the February 2007 Samjhauta blast in which 68 people were killed when bombs were set off on the India-Pakistan peace train.