'Varying ATS standards on Malegoan blasts harming India' : BJP

New Delhi, Nov 20 (UNI) Accusing the ruling coalition partners in Maharashtra of ''misusing'' the Anti-Terrorism Squad in the Malegoan blast case, the BJP today said the double standards adopted by the investigation agency in the two blasts in 2006 and 2008 would harm India's interests in the long run.

Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said nobody in the BJP was against the ATS investigating the case objectively and in a professional manner, but by its attempts to denigrate Army and religious leaders at the behest of political masters, the agency was only sending wrong signals to the world community.

''We are not sure of the complicity of the suspects, hence there should be an investigation but the statements of the Congress make it apparent that they are doubly sure of the complicity of the accused people,'' Mr Naidu said.

He said while the loss of every single life is condemnable, the the actions of the ATS towards the 2006 serial blasts in Mumbai and particularly the Malegoan blast had claimed over 200 lives.

Nobody is aware of the arrests or narco-analysis made by the ATS in the serial blasts but the newspapers were full of leaks about the 2008 blasts, killing seven Muslims. The ATS was humiliating a woman suspect, bypassing all established norms by the Courts, he said.

Mr Naidu said supporting separatists and terrorists had been the hallmark associated with the Congress regime, be it training the LTTE and later sending IPKF to Sri Lanka, propping Bhindarnwale in Punjab and goad the Army to launch Operation Blue Star.

Under the UPA regime, for the first time, Pakistan flags were flown high by the separatists in Jammu and Kashmir. Similar was the approach towards ULFA and surrendered ULFA, he remarked.

Regarding the BJP's objections on the Batla House encounter, Mr Naidu said there would have been no murmur if a wealthy leader like Amar Singh was to foot the legal bill of terror suspects, resulting in the death of a brave police officer.

The BJP objected when a Vice Chancellor of government funded university wanted to pick the bill with the Human Resources Minister.

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