Mumbai: The verdict of the NIA special court acquitting all the seven accused in the Malegaon bomb blast case was warmly welcomed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. He said the Congress should apologize to the nation for ``spreading the false narrative of saffron terrorism."
With all the accused being proven innocent by the court the conspiracy of the Congress-led UPA government to humiliate Hindu society by floating the false narrative of saffron terrorism has been exposed today. "I will not blame the police, because they acted under the pressure of the conspiracy of the Congress-led UPA regime," he said. "We will study the entire judgement and then take a call on the future course of action. But it looks like the entire case was a conspiracy, " he said.
Deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena chief, Eknath Shinde, said âThe verdict has wiped away the stain unfairly placed on Hindus. Those who played politics by labelling Hindus as terrorists must now face the truth. The slogan âGarv se kaho, hum Hindu hai' (Say it with pride, we are Hindus) will now echo across the country louder than ever,â he added. âThe Congress used the term âsaffron terrorâ for vote bank politics. With this verdict, the mask has fallen,â he stated.
Speaking further, Shinde stated, âThough delayed, justice has finally been served. Truth can never be defeated. The Shiv Sena stood firmly with the accused from the beginning, because we always believed in their innocence.â âThis injustice will never be forgotten by the Hindu community. A Hindu can never act against the nation â patriotism is a sacred duty in our religion,â Shinde asserted.
âWhat answer does the Congress have now for this blatant falsehood? A dark chapter has ended today,â Shinde said. âHindus are tolerant by nature, but the Congress used the idea of saffron terror for political gain,â he added.
State Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal said "The Congress has always stood firmly against terrorism. Congress leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi paid a heavy price due to acts of terrorism," said Sapkal. He emphasized that terrorism has no color or religion and that whoever is guilty must be convicted, regardless of their background.
"If the state government has approached the Supreme Court against the acquittal in the Mumbai train blast case, then it should also challenge the verdict in the Malegaon blast case. The government must not take different stands in two similar terrorism cases," he added.
Sapkal further questioned, "The key questionâwho was actually behind the blastsâstill remains unanswered."
AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel said "Who are the real perpetrators? "Individuals accused of the 7/11 bombings languished in jails for 19 years. After they were acquitted, the state government stated that the verdict was not acceptable. If the accused in both the cases (Malegaon and Mumbai train bombings) are innocent, then who was responsible for engineering the blasts?" he asked while speaking to reporters.
