BJP Slams Congress over 'Hindu Terror' Narrative After Malegaon Verdict

Mumbai: Political one-upmanship has intensified in the wake of the special NIA court’s verdict acquitting all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case. The BJP has accused previous Congress-led governments of falsely implicating the accused for political gain, while opposition parties have demanded that the current government appeal the verdict.

Following the acquittals, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis posted on X, “Terrorism was never saffron, is not and will never be.”

Mr Fadnavis further alleged that the Congress, while heading the UPA coalition, coined terms like “Hindu terrorism” and “saffron terror” to counter the global narrative of “Islamic terrorism” after the 9/11 attacks. “Cogress must apologise for spreading the fake narrative of saffron terrorism. With the court acquitting all the accused individuals in the Malegaon case, the Congress’s conspiracy to defame Hindus also stands exposed today,” he said.

Echoing this sentiment, senior BJP leader and former minister Sudhir Mungantiwar alleged that the previous ruling parties attempted to frame innocent individuals in the case for vote-bank politics. “The verdict has validated the concerns we raised at the time. The home department should now focus on identifying the actual perpetrators. We also need to reflect on the delays in such critical cases,” he said.

Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde also condemned the Congress, stating that its use of the case for vote-bank politics had now been exposed. “Though delayed, justice has finally been served. Truth can never be defeated. The Shiv Sena stood firmly with the accused from the start because we believed in their innocence. Those who tried to label Hindus as terrorists must now face the truth. The slogan ‘Garv se kaho, hum Hindu hain’ will now resonate across the nation louder than ever,” Mr Shinde said.

In response, the Congress strongly countered the BJP's narrative. Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal said that Nathuram Godse was the first terrorist in independent India.

“While the accused have been acquitted, the key question remains—who carried out the bombing? The government must maintain a consistent stance on terrorism. If it appealed the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts verdict in the Supreme Court, it must also challenge the Malegaon verdict in the High Court. Let’s not forget that the first terrorist in independent India was Nathuram Godse, who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. Of the seven accused in that case, six were convicted. Though V.D. Savarkar was acquitted, the Kapoor Commission report had later pointed fingers at him,” the Congress leader said.

AIMIM leader and former MP Imtiaz Jaleel also demanded that the Maharashtra government appeal the Malegaon verdict in the Bombay High Court. Referring to the Bombay High Court’s recent acquittal of all 12 accused in the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, the former Lok Sabha member said, “Those accused in the 7/11 case spent 19 years in jail before being cleared. If both sets of accused are innocent, who then is responsible for the attacks? The acquittals must be reviewed without any religious or caste bias.”

Meanwhile, the lawyer representing the victims’ families has announced plans to challenge the acquittal in the High Court. Advocate Shahid Nadeem said, “It is deeply unfortunate that we had to wait 17 years for this judgment. But let it be clear — the victims are not to blame for the acquittal. They have only suffered. They came all the way from Malegaon to show their wounds and seek justice. The court had to give the benefit of the doubt because the investigating agencies failed. This is a failure of the ATS and the government, not the victims. They had no role in this. We will file an appeal independently.”