Suchandana Gupta/TNN
Bhopal, Nov 3: In an apparent bid to counter BJP's campaign over Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's hanging, Congress on Sunday clarified its position on the issue and said it has no sympathy for terrorists.
"Congress has no sympathies whatsoever for terrorists. Afzal should be hanged. There is no doubt about it," Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh said. He said Congress has never supported Afzal or any act of terror. "We're wrongly blamed for being soft on terrorism. Afzal Guru has been convicted and his mercy petition before the President is under process; it takes time," he said.
The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister also launched a scathing attack on Sangh Parivar and said blasts happen whenever BJP is in trouble. "Recent Assam blasts came at a time when BJP was in an embarrassing situation after Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur's arrest. BJP needed to divert attention," he said. "I am just drawing attention to this uncanny co-incidence."
He said Parliament was attacked when Lok Sabha was going to discuss first Tehelka sting against the BJP. "Whenever there are elections, blasts take place. In Karnataka, there were blasts in Hubli on the day of the first phase of polling. Two days before the second phase, blasts ripped through Jaipur," Digvijay said.
He demanded a probe into the funding of Malegaon blast accused sadhvi's NGOs. "Gujarat government is extending financial support to sadhvi's NGOs," he said and demanded fresh investigations into the blasts near mosques and Muslims killed in the recent years. "Blasts near mosques could be the work of saffron organisations. Government should probe into these incidents and take action against the culprits," he added.
Digvijay, who was Congress' campaign incharge in Gujarat elections earlier this year, said Pragya was closely linked with BJP and that she had campaigned for Narendra Modi. "Pragya's family wasn't doing well in Madhya Pradesh and it needs to be probed as to why her family moved to Surat," he said. "And with Pragya's association with Surat, it also needs to be probed as to how bombs discovered there got there immediately after Ahmedabad blasts."
Digvijay claimed that Indore had become a saffron terror hub under BJP government. "A suitcase from Indore carrying explosives was found on Samjhauta Express immediately after blasts on the Pakistan-bound train. Haryana police came to investigate but got no help from the state government," he said and added that an Indore newspaper was found from the blast site inside Ajmer's dargah. "Pragya and others arrested for Malegaon blast also happen to be from Indore," he said.