While BJP cries foul, colleagues back under fire Shinde

Don't be distracted by a phrase here or there. The intention, the commitment, the determination is what clearly matters -- that's the defence being put up by the Congress and the UPA government for Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde's controversial remark on Hindu terrorism. Renu Mittal examines

Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde's comments during the AICC meeting in Jaipur targeting the RSS-BJP combine for running terror training camps in their workshops have found a number of backers within the Congress and the government even as the Bharatiya Janata Party has demanded Shinde's sacking and an apology from Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The first to back Shinde was AICC General Secretary Digvijaya Singh who said he has been saying this for a long time and added that the home minister would have spoken on the basis of some evidence with his ministry and the government.

The only point on which the party and the government has differed from Shinde is over the use of the word saffron or kesaria and not over the sentiments expressed that the BJP and RSS-linked people were involved in terror activities.

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The second Congress leader to support Shinde was Union Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath.

And now Home Secretary R K Singh and the External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid have also backed the home minister's statement on 'Hindu terrorism' saying that the latter was talking about 'Sanghi terrorism'. 

His talk was based "entirely on facts" made available by investigative agencies.

Khurshid, however, added the caveat that religion has no religion and colour.

"Terror does not have religion. We have said this very clearly. And religion should not be associated with colour. This we have said very clearly. It is terror that we have to fight. Terror directed against India that we are fighting," he said.

Khurshid underlined that any form of violence that is propagated by extremists of any kind, irrespective of religion is what is dangerous for India. 

"I think we should not be distracted by a phrase here or there frankly. The intention, the commitment, the determination is what clearly matters," he said.

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This is also the point being made by the AICC media chairman Janardhan Dwivedi, who said the Congress position on the issue is very clear.

He said terrorism cannot be coupled with any religion and the party does not agree with anybody using the word Hindu since terrorism has no colour. He said that the colour kesaria is part of this country's ethos as both the national flag and the Congress flag have the colour on it.

Asking all concerned to stop the controversy, Dwivedi said that the home minister has clarified what he meant and sometimes a person may use a word or turn of phrase which is not correct but which does not take away from the essence of what he has said.

Interestingly, the home secretary has also jumped into the debate saying that a number of terrorists, names of whom are available with the home ministry, have a RSS background.

With Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Mohammad Sayeed holding a press conference and praising Shinde, the BJP is using the latter's statement to hit out against the Congress.

A senior Congress leader was also of the view that the Shinde's statement was unnecessary and unfortunate, and the timing of it during the AICC meeting was absolutely uncalled for as it has distracted from other issues which the party was debating.