Cong disapproves Shakeel Ahmed's IM remarks; RSS, BJP furious

The Congress on Monday disapproved of the remarks of party general secretary Shakeel Ahmed and party MP Rashid Masood that the 2002 Gujarat riots had led to the formation of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen.

"It is not the party line as of now," spokesperson Renuka Choudhary told reporters in New Delhi when asked about Ahmed's tweet on the issue which led to a political controversy on Sunday.

Her response was the same to a question about Masood's similar remarks.

She, at the same time, attacked the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat for the riots saying the way a particular community was targeted has no parallel anywhere else.

"Whatever happened in Gujarat, the manner in which people of a particular community were killed, such an incident has not happened anywhere else," she said.

Meanwhile, a senior RSS leader has slammed Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed, saying he is acting like spokesman of the terror outfit.

"Shakeel Ahmed is acting like IM spokesperson. Terrorism flourishes in India courtesy apologists like Ahmed," RSS National Executive member Ram Madhav wrote on Twitter – the micro blogging site.

Ram Madhav is currently in United States in connection with the visit of BJP president Rajnath Singh.

"Shakeel Ahmed's justification of terrorism is shocking. It is the Congress brand politics that has bred all forms of terror in India," Ram Madhav wrote.

Ahmed had said on Sunday on microblogging site Twitter that "Indian Mujahideen was formed after the Gujarat riots, says NIA in its charge sheet. Even now BJP and RSS will not desist from their communal politics?."

When contacted, the Congress general secretary blamed the "communal politics of BJP for the chain reaction" on the issue of terror.

Hitting back, BJP said the remarks were "stupid" and "reprehensible" as the Pakistan links of such outfits were well known.

Deputy Leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad said it was a "desperate" Congress which was actually trying to communalise the political scenario and playing with national security as it had "no answers for all the wrongs" it had done.