BJP's tirade against Shinde 'diversionary tactics': Cong

The Congress and the government on Thursday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party for its ‘unnecessary and unwarranted’ agitation over Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde's remarks on Hindu terror, saying it was a ‘diversionary tactics’ to keep away media attention from its internal affairs.

Rejecting BJP chief Rajnath Singh's demand for an apology by Shinde on the issue, All India Congress Committee general secretary Digvijay Singh asked the BJP president, its senior leader Lal Krishna Advani and Uma Bharti to apologise for speaking in favour Pragya Thakur, the alleged mastermind in Malegaon and Modasa blast cases.

"The BJP's agitation is unwarranted, unnecessary. The BJP does not have any issues against our government. That is why they are making this non-issue an issue," Union Minister V Narayanasamy said reacting to the BJP's tirade against Shinde.

He said that what the home minister meant was that ‘we should not allow terrorism by any religious group or in any part of the country’.

Party spokesperson Renuka Chowdhary said it was a ‘diversionary tactics’ by the BJP to shift attention from the circumstances in which they had to change their BJP President at the last moment.

"What wrong has Shinde said? He is the home minister. He must be having some facts. The party has already made it clear that the Congress believes that terror has no religion or colour. Then what is this fuss all about. They are just trying to divert attention," Chowdhary said.

Singh also played the Dalit card in defence of Shinde asking whether the BJP was trying to build this atmospohere ‘because they are not liking a Dalit home minister’.

"The home minister, himself, has taken back his words on Hindu terror. The Congress has also made it clear that terror has no religion or colour. "If the BJP asks Shinde to apologise, we ask L K Advani, Rajnath Singh and Uma Bharti to apologise," he said, asking why Advani went and Sushma Swaraj had met the prime ministerover Pragya Thakur's arrest," the AICC leader said.