Congress is mother of terrorism in India: Naidu

Ahmedabad, Dec 13 (UNI) Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu today said Congress president Sonia Gandhi has no moral right to speak about fighting terrorism since her party ''is the mother of terrorism because of its soft stand towards tackling militancy''.

Talking to newspersons here, Mr Naidu alleged that wrong and soft policies of the Congress and the Nehru family had given birth to militants across the country, including in Kashmir.

The repeal of TADA and POTA by the Congress-led UPA Government also indicates the governmment's soft stand, he said.

Condemning Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his statement that post-Godhra riot cases could be reopened if Congress came to power in Gujarat, Mr Naid said, ''Will Dr Singh reopen the 1984 riots cases in which over 6,000 innocent Sikhs, including 5,000 in Delhi alone, were killed in just one day and even FIRs have still not been registered?'' Defending the BJP led-NDA Government's stand on Kandahar highjack issue, the BJP leader said, ''The decision to release militants was taken to save the lives of 132 innocent passengers. Besides, the decision was taken with the consent of Congress party.'' Referring to the kidnapping of former Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's daughter Dr Rubaiya, Mr Naidu questioned, ''Can Congress reply why it released dreaded terrorists to save the life of just one relative of its minister?'' Lauding the Gujarat government for achieving ''enormous all-round growth and development'', Mr Naidu said, ''According to UNESCO and Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, Gujarat is No 1 state in the country and is the ''growth engine'' of India.

When asked, BJP leader added that the Gujarat model would be replicated in other BJP-ruled states as well.

UNI