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‘Why no action against Hindu groups?’

Alibaug, (Maharashtra): Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has suggested that the Hindu groups like the Bajrang Dal could also be labelled as terrorists going by their actions and wondered why the Muslims alone were being targeted as terrorists.

Lashing out at the ‘double standards’ of the police, Mr. Pawar said “if Muslims are being targeted as terrorists, why no action is taken against the Hindu groups like Sanatan Prabhat and Bajrang Dal?” “The culprits should be booked under the law whether they are Hindus or Muslims,” Mr. Pawar told journalists at this coastal resort at the end of a two-day meeting of his party.

“The involvement of the Sanatan Prabhat and the Bajrang Dal in the riots at Thane and also blasts came to light recently but it was not highlighted,” he said.

He asked the Home department to intervene and have a different attitude to handle the issue of terrorism. “After all the unity of the nation is important otherwise the society will have to pay the ultimate price for it.”

“Those who indulged in illegal activities and creating enmity between the communities whether they belonged to the Bajrang Dal or the SIMI... I am not taking any name but same approach should be taken for everybody,” he said.

“I have read the literature of the Sanatan organisation written by founder Anil Pachpute and it was horrible,” he said.

Mr. Pawar also warned that isolating a particular strata of society by labelling as terrorist was not a good sign.

Noting that the nuclear energy was the only alternative before India, Mr. Pawar said it was impossible for the country to scrap the India-U.S. nuclear deal now.

“Good relations with the U.S. have to be maintained,” he said, adding “this is a deal between India and U.S. and not between Manmohan Singh and George Bush.” --PTI

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