Pak boat row: Cong speaking Pakistan language, says BJP

Accusing Congress of playing "dirty politics" over the Pakistani boat issue, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday demanded that its vice president Rahul Gandhi clarify whether he supports his party leaders speaking Pakistan's language.

The BJP said that Gandhi, who has so far remained silent on the issue, should have come out in support of the role played by the security forces in averting a possible terror attack.

By remaining silent, Gandhi is according his nod to the Congress spokespersons who have raised question marks about the role of security agencies in the episode which occurred off the coast of Gujarat on New Year's night, the BJP said.

"While the whole nation is appreciating the role of the security forces in aborting a 26/11-like attack, Congress is negating the role of alert security forces. (It) is playing dirty politics on the issue of terror. Rahul Gandhi should clarify if he favours his spokespersons supporting the cause of terrorists and Pakistan," BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said.

Remarks by Congress leaders raising doubt over the incident are lowering the morale of the forces that are constantly on the vigil protecting the land and sea boundaries of the country, he said.

Coming out strongly against Congress, Sharma said that after the public punished it in the Lok Sabha elections for its "dirty politics", was the opposition party now planning to contest elections in Pakistan under terrorist Hafiz Saeed's leadership.

"After its bad defeat in elections in the country and going by the pro-Pakistan language of its leaders, is Congress planning to contest (elections in Pakistan under the leadership of Hafiz Saeed, as there is a leadership crisis within it," he said.

Sharma also charged that Congress leaders have in the past played politics on the issue of terror by speaking out in favour of terrorists.

In a mid-sea operation, a suspected Pakistani fishing boat carrying explosives was intercepted by the Coast Guard in the Arabian Sea but caught fire and exploded with all four crew members on board.

Reports in a section of the media have questioned the government version about the episode and Congress has latched on to these to ask the government to come clean on the issue.