Narayanasamy defends Shinde on 'Hindu militancy' remarks

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Minister V Narayanasamy on Tuesday defended remarks made by Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde about Hindu outfits, saying the Bharatiya Janata Party's demand for his resignation is unwarranted.

Talking to reporters in Chennai, Narayanasamy said that militancy prevails in the country and cannot be ignored. He added that Shinde's comments did not intend to target a particular community.

"The BJP's demand for Shinde's resignation is unwarranted. There is terrorism in several parts of the country," he said.

"Whosoever is involved in terrorism is condemnable. In fact, the Malegaon incident and the Jama Masjid incident are clear cases of people belonging to a particular community and being involved in terrorism there. Innocent people were killed and the people who have been arrested included the Sadhvi," said Narayanasamy.

Earlier on Sunday, Shinde had said that the BJP and its parent body, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, were recruiting and training Hindu militants.

Changing his stance later, Shinde clarified that he only quoted newspaper reports to point out growing incidents of saffron militancy in the country.

He added that the Congress Party would not ignore militancy by any group.

"India is a secular country. Whether it is Hindu terrorism or Islamic fundamental terrorism, both are to be condemned. Our Congress party and our government, both condemn both incidents. The BJP's contention that there is the violence, terrorism only by Muslims and there is nothing on the Hindu side, it is totally unbelievable," said Narayanasamy.

Shinde also claimed that the BJP uses cultural nationalism to emotionally divide the country, whereas the Congress works on the policy of consensus.