Home Secretary RK Singh today claimed that Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) associates were involved in terror activities in the country.

“The government has names of at least 10 persons associated with the RSS in bomb blast cases,” he said. Singh said that RSS was involved in Samjhauta Express, Mecca Masjid and Dargah Sharif blasts. His statement comes soon after Congress spokesperson Janardhan Dwivedi distanced the Congress from Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s earlier comment on “saffron terrorism”.

Dwivedi said, “As far as terms like 'Hindu terrorism' or 'saffron terrorism' go, the party is not in agreement with such terms. Shinde must have unintentionally made the comment.”

The BJP has demanded an apology from the Congress for Shinde’s remark. "Training camps of both the BJP and the RSS are promoting Hindu terrorism. Whether it is Samjhauta blast or Mecca Masjid blast or Malegaon blast, they plant bombs and blame it on the minorities," he had said on the last day of the Congress Chintan Shivir in Jaipur. His comments were backed by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid. "Our stated position is fully shared by the Home Minister. His statements are based on facts," Khurshid told reporters.

Addressing a press conference in the national capital, BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “The BJP has taken strong objection to the remarks made by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on ‘Hindu terrorism’ and the endorsement of the same by the External Affairs Minister.”

“BJP is deeply pained with the repeated irresponsible utterances of the top UPA government ministers who have blamed the BJP and its parent organization, the RSS, for encouraging Hindu terrorism,’’ he said. In a separate press conference in Mumbai, the RSS also strongly condemned the remarks made by Shinde.

“The Home Minister must apologise to the Hindus for his highly regrettable and offending remarks. He owes an explanation to the majority Hindus of this country,” a top RSS leader said.

But, the alleged connection of RSS leaders with some of the blasts is not unknown.

Right wing activists are alleged to have plotted the Samjhauta Express bomb blast. Six people, including Swami Aseemanand and Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, have been chargesheeted by the National Investigation Agency. Two bombs went off on the Samjhauta Express near Panipat on February 18, 2007 while it was on way to Lahore, killing 68 people.

Sadhvi Pragya is also one of the prime accused in the Malegaon blasts case of September 29, 2008, in which six persons were killed and 100 others were injured. On January 19, 2009, Maharashtra Police had filed a chargesheet in the Malegaon blasts case. According to the chargesheet, Lt Col Prasad Purohit was the main conspirator, who provided the explosives and Sadhvi Pragya arranged for the persons, who planted the explosives.

In December, 2012, a man belonging to a right wing group was arrested by the NIA in connection with the May 18, 2007 Mecca Masjid blast that left 13 people dead in Hyderabad. Tej Ram was apprehended by NIA sleuths from Ravidas Marg area of Depalpur, 15 km from Indore.

Updated Date: January 22, 2013 19:30:55 IST

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