New Delhi/Patna:
Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday claiming it was the 2002 Gujarat riots that led to the formation of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen.
"Indian Mujahideen was formed after Gujarat riots, says NIA in its charge sheet. Even now BJP and RSS will not desist from their communal politics?" Mr Ahmed tweeted.
Later, speaking in Patna, Mr Ahmed said, "The main source of communalism in the country is RSS and BJP," and added that those who want to stop communal politics should "build pressure on BJP and RSS".
The BJP was quick to react. "They are trying to make it communal. There has been peace in Gujarat for 10 years, and it is developing. They know they have no answer," party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi later tweeted, "Shakeel Ahmed seems justifying IM, shares their objective and is sympathetic to their cause? Congress's political alliances with similar outfits have preceded Gujarat an excuse to justify such a mindset. Alliance with Muslim league, MIM, TNMMK!"
"It is a stupid argument. Pakistan had been funding these outfits so please desist from helping enemies of the country.... too much of tweeting will lead to quitting," BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said.
Narendra Modi led the state in 2002 when riots broke out that left over 1,000 dead, most of them Muslims. Earlier this month, in a rare interview, Mr Modi defended his actions during the riots, asserting that "we used our full strength to set out to do the right thing."
Talking exclusively to news agency Reuters, the Gujarat Chief Minister had said, "The Supreme Court created a special investigative team (SIT) and top-most, very bright officers who oversee the SIT. That report came. In that report, I was given a thoroughly clean chit, a thoroughly clean chit."
Asked if he regretted what had happened in 2002, Mr Modi used an analogy that later became a huge controversy. Mr Modi said, "If we are driving a car, we are a driver, and someone else is driving a car and we're sitting behind, even then if a puppy (kutte ka bachcha) comes under the wheel, will it be painful or not? Of course it is. If I'm a chief minister or not, I'm a human being. If something bad happens anywhere, it is natural to be sad."
The Gujarat Chief Minister, seen by many in his party the BJP as a potential candidate for Prime Minister, is accused by political rivals of not doing enough to prevent the communal riots of 2002, in which hundreds of Muslims were killed under his watch.