By IANS,
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday accused the Congress party of “abusing the patriotism” of millions of Muslims by “branding the voices against terrorism as voices against Muslims”.
“The country’s Muslims don’t hold terrorist Afzal Guru (parliament attack convict) and Osama bin Laden as their icon, but the Congress party attempts to divert the attention of the people from real terrorism by terming it as Hindu-Muslim terrorism,” BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said in a statement.
Naqvi further questioned Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her son and party general secretary Rahul Gandhi for keeping “mum on terrorism, separatism and Naxalism (Maoist extremism).”
“The BJP cautions the Congress party to desist from shedding ‘Afzali aansu’ (Afzali tears) on terrorism,” Naqvi said.
He said the country is “irked on the weak policy and attitude” of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government towards terrorism, separatism and Maoist extremism and alleged that the Congress is promoting terrorism instead of crushing it.
Afzal Guru was sentenced to death for his role in the Dec 13, 2001, attack on parliament. He has filed a mercy petition with the president.