New Delhi: Kicking off a fresh controversy the Congress on Wednesday accused the BJP of “rejoicing” when communal clashes take place in any part of the country. But countering the ruling party’s verbal barb against it, BJP raked up the issue of killing of Sikhs in 1984 and displacement of Kashmiri Pandits.
AICC general secretary Shakeel Ahmad on Tuesday had said, “Whenever there are riots in this country, two types of people rejoice — the ISI in Pakistan and the BJP in India.”
Explaining his comments he claimed that riots lead to polarisation in society, a situation in which BJP benefits in terms of votes and Pakistan’s ISI benefits by getting more funding from "40-42" Islamic countries in the name of protecting Muslims in India.
When countered with claims that Congress is also being accused for its involvement in anti-Sikh riots, Dr Ahmed said, there is a difference between 1984 riots and other incidences of communal clashes in the country, particularly 2002 Gujarat riots.
“Perhaps, this is why we are discussing the issue of Gujarat because in this case on whom there was responsibility (of stopping the riots), he monitored and presided over it,” he added.
