Ahmedabad: Firebrand Congress-supported Independent legislator from North Gujarat Jignesh Mevani on Sunday raised questions over the BJP's alleged links with those accused of terror activities and cited the instance of two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) members rounded up by villagers in Jammu & Kashmir’s Reasi. It is being alleged that Talib Hussain Shah, the arrested LeT member is a former BJP minority morcha IT cell in-charge.
Mevani also referred to allegations of one of the murderers in last week’s Udaipur horror – Mohammad Riyaz Akhtari – having links with the saffron camp. A tailor Kanhaiya Lal was beheaded by two Muslim men in Udaipur on June 28 leading to a national uproar.
Taking to Twitter, Mevani, who supports the Congress, asserted that BJP connections are emerging in the recent terrorist attacks and making a reference to popular Hindi TV serial along with pictures of the two, asked “Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai (what the connections mean)".
This is a day after Congress leader Pawan Khera said Akhtari was present at an event of BJP leaders. "BJP leaders referred to him as ‘Bhai’. What is happening in this country?” Khera said while sharing Akhtari’s photos with Rajasthan BJP leaders Irshad Chainwala, Gulab Chand Kataria and Mohammad Tahir.
However, the BJP has refuted all links with the Udaipur murderer. Party leader Irshad Chainwala, with whom Akhtari was seen in the photograph, said, "The photo of me garlanding Akhtari is when he returned from a pilgrimage, and was introduced by someone else to me.”
Specifically asked if Akhtari was involved in party work, Chainwala, the president of the BJP’s Udaipur minority cell, said he was not aware, while adding Akhtari was not a party worker.
Meanwhile, in Reasi district, where the two most wanted LeT terrorists were captured by villagers, the Congress has alleged that one of the terrorists was a former in-charge of the BJP's minority morcha IT cell.
"BJP IT cell in-charge minority morcha & terrorist Talib Hussain's plan to attack the ongoing Amarnath Yatra was crushed by the locals in J&K's tuksan Reasi. They showed extreme courage in apprehending him. Surprisingly! He was recently appointed IT head Minority Morcha by the BJP!” Congress' Salman Nizami wondered in a Twitter message.
The BJP has denied this too. President of the party's Jammu and Kashmir unit Ravinder Raina said Hussain was neither an active member nor a primary member of the BJP.
“Talib Hussain Shah is neither an active member nor even the primary member of the BJP. He visited BJP headquarters in Jammu many times as a reporter along with his cameraman and took my interviews in the past. He used to be accompanied by a couple of men,” Raina a section of the media.
Raina claimed Shah didn't have any membership in the official records of the BJP. "Though the entire matter is being investigated but prima facie it seems that he (Talib Hussain Shah) conducted a recce of the BJP office and mine too," the J&K BJP president added.
