Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Friday denied that there was any intelligence input on terror threat to BJP leaders, but assured a party delegation, led by Ravi Shankar Prasad, that adequate security would be provided to all BJP leaders.
In a memorandum to the Home Minister, the delegation, comprising BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman and MPs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Jagat Prakash Nadda, said: “Several sections of the media have reported, based on Intelligence Bureau sources, that there is threat to our leaders and this threat could even lead to kidnapping. It was suggested in these reports that the motive behind such plans could be to secure the release of terrorist Yasin Bhatkal.”
Mr. Prasad said if indeed there was any such IB input, the Home Minister should take steps to ensure the safety of all BJP leaders.
The delegation said even earlier there were threats to specific party leaders from the Indian Mujahideen.
“It is election time and as such all our leaders are travelling to different parts of the country as part of our campaign. We demand that the Home Ministry take all necessary steps to completely ensure their safety. No effort should be spared in ensuring foolproof security to our leaders,” a member of the BJP delegation said.
Mr. Shinde on Thursday denied any input on threat to top BJP leaders from terrorist outfits, but the Ministry had last month issued an alert about Naxals planning to disrupt the Lok Sabha polls by targeting security forces and political leaders, particularly those from the Congress, the BJP and the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha.
