Sushil kumar Shinde regrets ‘saffron terror’ remark

[indian_foxhound]

New Delhi: In an apparent move to appease the
main Opposition, the Bhartiya Janata Party, ahead
of the Budget Session, Union Minister Sushilkumar
Shinde expressed regret over his 'saffron terror'
remark on Wednesday. In a brief statement by way of clarification,
Shinde, who is also the Leader of the Lok Sabha,
said his comment has created a
"misunderstanding" and that he had no intention
to link terrorism with any religion. "Since controversy has been created on account
of my statement, I am issuing this clarification
and expressing regret to those who felt hurt by
my statement," he said. "My statement given in Jaipur last month has
created a misunderstanding. It has been
understood to mean that I was linking terrorism
to a particular religion and was accusing certain
political organisations of being involved in
organising terror camps," he said. "I had no intention to link terror to any religion.
There is no basis for suggesting that terror can
be linked to organisations mentioned in my brief
speech in Jaipur," he added. "I will continue to perform my duties to the best
of my ability to ensure that harmony is
maintained in the social fabric of India," Shinde
said. Earlier, staging a strong protest over Home
Minister's 'saffron terror' remarks, BJP had said
today that Shinde’s comments were part of a
conspiracy to divide the nation for vote bank
politics and had demanded an apology. Stepping up attack on Shinde ahead of the
Budget Session of Parliament starting tomorrow,
BJP president Rajnath Singh questioned the Home
Minister's intentions in making such a
provocative statement. "This comment of the Home Minister is part of a
conspiracy to divide the nation for vote bank
politics," Singh said, addressing a large number of
protesting party workers at Parliament Street
here today. Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun
Jaitley said the Congress was indulging in
"communal polarisation" through such remarks. "The Congress and UPA vote bank is contracting.
Shinde wants to divide the nation on the basis of
religion. They are trying to indulge in communal
polarisation. The Home Minister made this
statement with the intention of dividing the
nation for votes and seek the vote bank of a particular religion," Jaitley said, addressing the
protesting partymen. Jaitley questioned Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on
how they have allowed such a Home
Minister, who is giving Pakistan a reason to
say that India is running terror camps, to
function. Singh also questioned the intentions of Shinde to
make such provocative comment and appealed
to the countrymen "to understand the conspiracy
behind making such a statement." A month ago, Shinde using the platform of
Congress Party's Chintan Shivir in Jaipur had said,
"We have got an investigation report that, be it
the RSS or BJP, their training camps are promoting
Hindu terrorism.” Needless to say this remark by
the Home Minister evoked a strong reaction both from the BJP and the RSS. The BJP has been
relentlessly attacking Shinde since then and
seeking his apology and resignation. The BJP had categorically said that they would
raise the matter in Parliament, raising fears
amongst Congress leaders that the Budget
Session would be a stormy affair. However, with important legislations pending,
the Congress was keen that the House runs
smoothly. Prime Minsiter Manmohan Singh said
today in the national capital, "This session of
Parliament is going to transact important financial
business before the House and it is our sincere hope that we will have a productive,
constructive debate leading to agreed solutions
to the many national problems that our country
faces." Shinde's statement on the eve of Budget Session
can be seen as a climbdown for the Congress
party and a victory of sorts for the BJP. Shortly after Shinde expressed regret, BJP
welcomed it but said it ought to have come much
earlier. "The delay had created a condition which
gladdened the hearts of terrorists and their
patrons in Pakistan," BJP chief spokesman Ravi
Shanker Prasad said.

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