BJP funding Indian Mujahideen, says Shankarsinh Vaghela

Written By dna Correspondent | Updated:

Raises question on law and order in state.

Shankarsinh Vaghela, leader of the opposition in the Gujarat Assembly, has accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of funding terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM). The allegation comes close on the heels of chief minister Narendra Modi’s allegation that the Congress had let loose the IM upon him. Also raising questions on law and order, the Congress wished a safe new year to the people.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, Vaghela said: “The IM’s modus operandi is similar to that of the BJP.” Claiming that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was using the Kaliyani community to fund the IM, he said that though the community followed Islam, Muslims were not ready to accept them. So, the BJP was using this anti-Muslim community.

The veteran Congressman went on to claim that he had asked security agencies to explore the Gujarat connection in the Bodh Gaya and Patna blasts. “It has emerged that the conspiracy was planned in Halol-Kalol. So, what was the Gujarat Police doing?” he wondered.

Again, with a tinge of sarcasm, Vaghela said the police could only identify terrorists coming from other states to kill the CM, but they were not tipped off about the conspiracy being plotted in the state. So, this leads one to suspect whether these conspiracies were the handiwork of the Gujarat Police, he said. It also raised the issue of law and order in the state and charged the BJP with dividing the nation for vote-bank politics.

“Gujarat is much ahead of Bihar, Haryana, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and many other states in crime ratio,” said Arjun Modhwadia, president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC). He also said that in the first five months of 2013, 1,349 more criminal cases had taken place in Gujarat compared to the corresponding period last year. “From January to May 2013, criminal cases against women have increased by 37%,” pointed out Modhwadia.

He added that in cases registered under IPC 204, 30 cases per one lakh population had been registered in Gujarat, which was higher than 130.90 in Bihar and the national averag of 192.20.