New Delhi:
Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed today met party president Sonia Gandhi amid a raging political controversy over his tweet that the 2002 Gujarat riots led to the formation of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM), even as he questioned the "hype" over his comment.
The meeting fueled speculation that the party leadership was deeply upset at the controversy, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) even using Mr Ahmed's comments to target Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.
"There are many people in the Congress party who want to legitimize terror in the country. It's not unusual. In case the Congress wants to regret that statement, we would like a categorical response from Rahul Gandhi," said BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
On Monday, Rahul Gandhi had issued a stern warning to party men - that straying from the party line would not be tolerated.
But Mr Ahmed, questioning the "hue and cry" over his comment, tweeted today: "BJP spokespersons are trying to make it my statement simply to divert the nation's attention from the National Investigation Agency (NIA)'s observations."
In the explosive tweet on Sunday that triggered the row, Mr Ahmed had remarked: "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?" He was referring to a chargesheet filed by the NIA after 10 serial blasts took place at Bodh Gaya in Bihar earlier this month.
As BJP leaders condemned Mr Ahmed for "rationalising a terror outfit" the Congress was forced to clarify that it was "not the party line as of now".
The BJP slammed Mr Ahmed's comment as a desperate strategy by the ruling party to polarize voters ahead of the 2014 elections.
"A Congress Party spokesperson went to the extraordinary extent of rationalising the formation and existence of the Indian Mujahideen," senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley wrote in an article.
"The effort is to somehow paint the Indian Mujahideen as an organisation of the aggrieved who are victims of riots in Gujarat. ...this is yet another desperate attempt to communalise an issue of national security," Mr Jaitley wrote.
The meeting fueled speculation that the party leadership was deeply upset at the controversy, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) even using Mr Ahmed's comments to target Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.
"There are many people in the Congress party who want to legitimize terror in the country. It's not unusual. In case the Congress wants to regret that statement, we would like a categorical response from Rahul Gandhi," said BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
On Monday, Rahul Gandhi had issued a stern warning to party men - that straying from the party line would not be tolerated.
But Mr Ahmed, questioning the "hue and cry" over his comment, tweeted today: "BJP spokespersons are trying to make it my statement simply to divert the nation's attention from the National Investigation Agency (NIA)'s observations."
In the explosive tweet on Sunday that triggered the row, Mr Ahmed had remarked: "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?" He was referring to a chargesheet filed by the NIA after 10 serial blasts took place at Bodh Gaya in Bihar earlier this month.
As BJP leaders condemned Mr Ahmed for "rationalising a terror outfit" the Congress was forced to clarify that it was "not the party line as of now".
The BJP slammed Mr Ahmed's comment as a desperate strategy by the ruling party to polarize voters ahead of the 2014 elections.
"A Congress Party spokesperson went to the extraordinary extent of rationalising the formation and existence of the Indian Mujahideen," senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley wrote in an article.
"The effort is to somehow paint the Indian Mujahideen as an organisation of the aggrieved who are victims of riots in Gujarat. ...this is yet another desperate attempt to communalise an issue of national security," Mr Jaitley wrote.
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