By Andalib Akhter, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: Putting question mark on congress’s secularism, the Janta Dal (U) has demanded removal of the newly appointed Maharashtra ATS chief, KP Raghuvanshi saying his credibility as a secular officer is doubtful.
Talking to this correspondent today the national spokesperson of the JD (U) Shivanand Tiwari said that Congress-led Maharashtra government has appointed a person who allegedly mixed up with the Malegaon blasts accused.
Terming AR Antulay controversy as Congress drama, Tiwari said that he should have raised the real issue instead of taking political mileage.
Tiwari pointed out that Raghuvanshi was removed from the same post and Karkare put in his place after reports of his bias against the Muslim community and relations with Malegaon blasts accused became public.
Karkare earned the wrath of the BJP and Sangh Parivar members when he arrested Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt-Col Shrikant Prasad Purohit, Sudhakar Pandey and other members of the Abhinav Bharat, an outfit of the Hindutva brigade.
“Before Hemant Karkare took over Raghuvanshi was the ATS chief. The Malegaon blasts took place during his tenure. That time the ATS had only held the Muslims responsible for this blast and rounded up several youths of the community in this connection,” Tiwari alleged adding only later, when Karkare took over he based his investigations on the motorcycle owned by Pragya Thakur and arrested her and the Army officer Purohit.
“The shocking aspect is that as ATS chief Raghuvanshi had invited Purohit in 2005 to the ATS headquarters and at Raghuvanshi’s request Purohit had trained the ATS staff in anti-terrorist operations,” He said.
Meanwhile the centre has taken a serious note of JD (U) startling revelations. According to sources matter has also been brought to the notice of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who has reportedly sought detail of the allegations.