New Delhi:
As the BJP and Shiv Sena disrupted parliament today, demanding a clarification from the Home Minister on his remarks on saffron terror, there seems to be a divide within his own party.
While many in the Congress including spokespersons have defended the use of the phrase saffron terror, today Janardhan Dwivedi, who is a General Secretary and Chairman of the party's media committee said terrorism has no colour, and it would be wrong to identify terrorism with any colour.
(Read: Saffron Terrorism - a new phenomenon, says Chidambaram)"This controversy has started because of a word. The agenda was not saffron, it was terrorism and terrorism has no colour. It is completely black in colour, whether you associate terrorism with saffron, red, green, or white, it can never be connected to any colour. Terrorism should be condemned and should be an issue of objection. So as you said it is important to see what you speak. Most importantly people should not object to any color as every color has its own tradition and history," he said. (
Watch: Terror has no colour, says Janardhan Dwivedi)
"Saffron is associated with the history of independence, it is associated with mythological things. Most importantly no color represents a community, a group, for that matter the politics of the country," Dwivedi added.
Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena and BJP created an uproar in the Rajya Sabha over Home Minister P Chidambaram's recent 'saffron terror' remarks, leading to two adjournments of the House till noon.
As soon as the House met for the day, Manohar Joshi of the Shiv Sena raised the issue of the Home Minister's statement at the conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of Police in New Delhi.
"There cannot be Bhagwa (saffron) terrorism," he said demanding that Chidambaram should give names of people connected with terror when making such statements.
He found support in BJP members who shouted slogans like "Hinduo ka apman nahi chalega" (insult to Hindus will not be tolerated).
Chairman Hamid Ansari said no one was being heard with so many people speaking simultaneously and asked the members to allow Question Hour to proceed.
"We have important questions. Please allow Question Hour to proceed," he said as he called Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley to speak on the issue.
But Jaitley could not speak as members in the ruling benches and Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan countered him.
Paswan made a reference to RSS' association with terrorism, leading to BJP members rushing into the well shouting slogans like "RSS ka apman nahi chalega (insult to RSS will not be tolerated)."
Ansari first asked members to return to the places but when they did not relent, he adjourned the House for 15 minutes.
When the House reassembled, Jaitley said there was a legitimate grievance among a large section of the House on the use of the expression by the Home Minister.
"The country had faced militancy in Punjab, Naxal violence, Kashmir problem and other forms of terrorism but they were never associated with any community or religion," he said.
Jaitley said he expected Chidambaram to come out with a strategy to deal with Maoist violence and the Kashmir problem but instead he raised the issue of "phenomenon of saffron terror."
"He is trying to fight imaginary (saffron) terrorism," he said adding the Home Minister should be advised that he desist from linking communities with terrorism.
Paswan said Chidambaram had made the statement as a responsible minister of the government and saffron terrorism should be dealt with firmly.
"The government should ban VHP, Bajrang Dal and RSS," he said leading to an uproar from BJP members, some of whom rushed into the well for the second time.
Addressing a meet of top policemen recently, Chidambaram had said, "There is no let-up in the attempts to radicalise young men and women in India. There has been a recent uncovered phenomenon of saffron terrorism that has been implicated in many bomb blasts in the past. My advice to you is that we must remain ever vigilant and continue to build, at both Central and state level, our capacities in counter-terrorism."
His comments came against the backdrop of investigators finding links between Hindu extremist outfits and at least five bomb blasts in recent years - at Hyderabad's Mecca Masjid, at Ajmer, Goa, Malegaon in Maharashtra and Modasa in Gujarat.
Ansari said a discussion internal security was slated during the current session and these issues could be raised then.
But as members continued with their protests, he adjourned the House till 1200 hours.