The letter says Maoists want to assassinate Modi the way former PM Rajiv Gandhi was killed, say Maharashtra CM and the state police.
Maoists are planning to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi the way former PM Rajiv Gandhi was killed, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the state police said on Friday, citing a letter allegedly seized from a person arrested two days ago.
Fadnavis said the state police, while arresting five people two days ago, seized 'internal communication' in which a Maoist commander has asked his cadre that Modi should be assassinated.
He said a probe is underway to find more links in connection with the alleged plot.
The letter, which talks about the assassination plot, was recovered from the house of Rona Wilson who was among five people arrested from Mumbai, Nagpur and Delhi in connection with ‘Elgar Parishad’ held in Maharashtra in December and the subsequent Bhima-Koregaon violence in the district, the police said.
The letter addressed to one Comrade Prakash by sender who identifies himself as 'R', talks about ‘Rajiv Gandhi-type incident’ and suggests that Modi should be targeted during one of his ‘road shows’.
It talks about the requirement of Rs 8 crore for procurement of M-4 assault rifle along with four lakh rounds of ammunition for the purpose.
All the five were on Thursday produced before the sessions court which remanded them in police custody till June 14.
The letter reads: ‘Defeating Hindu fascism has been our core agenda and a major concern for the party. Several leaders from secret cells as well as open organisations have raised this issue very strongly.
‘Modi-led Hindu fascist regime is bulldozing its way into the lives of indigenous adivasis. In spite of big defeats like Bihar and West Bengal, Modi has successful established BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) government in more than 15 states.
‘If this pace continues, then it would mean immense trouble for the party on all the fronts.
‘Comrade Kisan and few other senior comrades have proposed concrete steps to end Modi-Raj. We are thinking along the line of another Rajiv Gandhi type incident.’
Rajiv Gandhi, former prime minister, was killed by a woman suicide bomber during a public event in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991.
‘It sounds suicidal and there is a great chance that we might fail but we feel that the party PB (Politbureau)/CC (central committee) must deliberate over our proposal,’ the letter adds.
‘Targeting his road shows could be an effective strategy. We collectively believe that survival of the party is the supreme to all the sacrifices,’ it adds.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event in Mumbai, Fadnavis said, “In of one of the internal communications (recovered from the arrested people), a commander has directed his cadre that Modi should be assassinated the way Rajiv Gandhi was killed.”
The chief minister added that ‘many such communications have been seized during the raids’ and ‘the intelligence agencies are at work and the investigations are probing into more links in this connection.’
Public Prosecutor Ujjwala Pawar cited the letter while arguing in the court and seeking police custody of the five accused on Thursday.
Eminent personalities on Friday voiced their concern over the alleged Maoist plot to assassinate the PM and emphasised the need to unite people against the forces trying to break the nation.
Yoga guru Ramdev, artistes Sonal Mansingh and Malini Awasthi, and spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar expressed their concern on Twitter over the alleged plot.
‘The plot to assassinate the Prime Minister of the largest democracy is a desperate attempt by anti-national elements to destabilise the country. This is not an attack on just an individual, but on the people of the entire nation. Let's stand united against such destructive forces,’ Ravi Shankar tweeted.
In a tweet in Hindi, Ramdev said he was ‘devastated’ after learning about the plot and demanded the government to order a high-level inquiry into the revelation. He urged politicians to rise above party politics to help uncover the conspiracy.
‘Today I am further alarmed to read about the evil plan hatched by 'Break India' forces to assassinate PM Modi using similar modus operandi as with Rajiv Gandhi. NaMo's total commitment to India is unmatched. May our prayers protect him (sic),’ Mansingh tweeted.
She said the plot showed that conspiracies to destabilise the country were no more a ‘myth’.
‘Deep conspiracies to destabilise India in every possible way is no more a 'Myth'. Plot to assassinate PM Modi should be Wake Up call for all who know the good work done by the 24-7-365 hard working NaMo (sic),’ she said in another tweet.
Popular folk singer Malini Awasthi called for crushing the evil elements scheming to assassinate Modi.
‘Time to crush all such evil elements! Comrades scheming to assassinate Prime Minister @narendramodi just like #RajivGandhi !! And All these naxals r backed by International Mafiya. They fear a strong India,thats why they fear a strong PM @narendramodi who wont let them BreakIndia (sic),’ she said.
