Rahul Gandhi has blamed the BJP for instigating the Muzaffarnagar riots. (File photo)
New Delhi:
The BJP wants the government to explain why intelligence officers are briefing Rahul Gandhi, the 43-year-old Vice President of the Congress.
At an election rally on Thursday, Mr Gandhi said that an intelligence officer warned him that Pakistani agencies have contacted "10 or 15 young Muslim men whose family members were killed in the Muzaffarnagar riots" in an attempt to recruit them.
Mr Gandhi blamed the BJP for instigating the Hindu-Muslim violence in which nearly 50 people were killed in September in western Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP has attacked Mr Gandhi for his remarks.
"In what capacity is the IB (Intelligence Bureau) briefing Rahul Gandhi? He is just an MP (Member of Parliament), we are MPs too. He is a party office bearer, we are party office bearers too. The IB does not brief our party bearers, how can they brief him? He is not the Prime Minister or a Home Minister," BJP national spokesman Prakash Javadekar said.
He also said Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde should elaborate on Mr Gandhi's allegation. "If these are the IB (Intelligence Bureau) inputs, the Home Minister owes an explanation on Rahul Gandhi's revelations about the IB inputs. This is very serious," he said.
The BJP has also said that Mr Gandhi's remarks question the patriotism of Indian Muslims.
At an election rally on Thursday, Mr Gandhi said that an intelligence officer warned him that Pakistani agencies have contacted "10 or 15 young Muslim men whose family members were killed in the Muzaffarnagar riots" in an attempt to recruit them.
Mr Gandhi blamed the BJP for instigating the Hindu-Muslim violence in which nearly 50 people were killed in September in western Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP has attacked Mr Gandhi for his remarks.
"In what capacity is the IB (Intelligence Bureau) briefing Rahul Gandhi? He is just an MP (Member of Parliament), we are MPs too. He is a party office bearer, we are party office bearers too. The IB does not brief our party bearers, how can they brief him? He is not the Prime Minister or a Home Minister," BJP national spokesman Prakash Javadekar said.
He also said Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde should elaborate on Mr Gandhi's allegation. "If these are the IB (Intelligence Bureau) inputs, the Home Minister owes an explanation on Rahul Gandhi's revelations about the IB inputs. This is very serious," he said.
The BJP has also said that Mr Gandhi's remarks question the patriotism of Indian Muslims.
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