The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday demanded the removal of Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde saying his statement on “Hindu terrorism” has favoured Pakistan and terrorists.
“The home minister’s statement has worked in favour of Pakistan and terrorists. We had cornered Pakistan on the international stage on terror, but Shinde has now given voice to them,” BJP spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain told reporters here.
Mr. Shinde had Sunday accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP of promoting “Hindu terrorism”.
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“They are talking about infiltration but we have this report that whether it is the BJP or the RSS, their training camps are promoting Hindu terrorism,” Mr. Shinde said at the All India Congress Committee meet in Jaipur.
Slamming Mr. Shinde for his remarks, Mr. Hussain added: “We don’t want him to retract the statement, we want the prime minister (Manmohan Singh) to retract him from the post of home minister.”
The BJP also demanded a clarification if it was a “planned statement or a slip of the tongue”.
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Hussain added: “(Pakistan’s interior minister) Rehman Malik and (Jamat—ud—Da’wah chief) Hafiz Saeed have welcomed Sushilkumar Shinde’s statement.”
Mr. Malik Monday said Pakistan had predicted the growth of “saffron terror”.