Congress draft political resolution targets RSS link to Hindu terror groups

Burari (Delhi), Dec.19 (ANI): The draft political resolution issued by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) at its 83rd plenary on Sunday specifically targeted the links between the rightwing Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) and terror groups.

Reading out the draft, senior party leader and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee highlighted the fact that this link required to be probed.

"The Indian National Congress calls upon the government to tackle this menace in the strongest possible manner and investigate links between terrorists and the RSS and its sister organizations that have been uncovered in some recent cases," said the draft Political Resolution that was moved in the plenary today.

The resolution was proposed by senior leader Pranab Mukherjee and seconded by Digvijay Singh.

The resolution highlighted the role of religious fundamentalist organizations in challenging the security of the nation, saying that it could not be ignored.

It may be recalled that a controversy had erupted after Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi had in remarks to US Ambassador Timothy Roemer described Hindu radicalism as being a bigger threat than terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The whistle blowing web site WikiLeaks had leaked Gandhi's remark to Roemer.

"Terrorism, from wherever it comes and whatever form it takes, must be dealt with firmly and effectively," the Congress resolution said.

Mukherjee said that the Bharatiya Janata Party and it affiliate organizations like the RSS and VHP were spreading both hatred and violence, and accused the latter two of seeking to damage the unity of India.

Earlier, Congress General Secretary, Digvijay Singh compared the RSS to German dictator Adolf Hitler's Nazi troops.

Addressing the 83rd plenary session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), Singh said RSS workers were involved in the 2008 Malegaon blast case that claimed seven lives.

The blast occurred near a hotel at Bhikku Chowk and the bombs were allegedly fitted onto a Hero Honda motorcycle and rigged to detonate.

Singh said that when the RSS was involved in such activity, inevitably the blame fell on the minority Muslim community, and this in itself, was unfair.

He also said there was no question of him going back on his recent statement on slain Maharashtra police ATS chief, Hemant Karkare receiving threats to his life from Hindu terrorists.

"I continue to stand by what I said and I do not think that there is any question of my retracting it or going back on it," he said.

The Congress General Secretary said he had not made the remarks "out of turn or out of context."

Singh said that so far neither Congress president Sonia Gandhi nor general secretary Rahul Gandhi had asked for any clarification on the issue, and that he had their blessings.

The political resolution also congratulated the UPA Government for comprehensively preventing communal violence. It also described the December 6, 1992 demolition of the Babri mosque by Hindu fundamentalists as shameful and urged law enforcement authorities to bring the perpetrators behind that incident to justice. (ANI)