Terrorism of all types threat to India, Rahul clarifies

The Hindu

New Delhi, 17 December 2010: Reacting to his reported statement that “radicalised Hindu groups” posed a bigger threat than outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Friday said in a statement that terrorism and communalism of all types are a threat to India.

“Rahul Gandhi’s view is that terrorism and communalism of all types are a threat to India. We need to remain vigilant against acts of terrorism of all kinds no matter who commits them,” AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said in a release issued on Mr. Gandhi’s behalf.

The statement comes in the wake of reports of a WikiLeaks-released U.S. cable, which claimed that Mr. Gandhi had told U.S. Ambassador Timothy Roemer that growth of “radicalised Hindu groups” which create religious tensions in India could pose a bigger threat to the country than activities of groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The initial reaction of the Congress on the issue was one of dilemma with party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi saying, “We will respond to it after verifying the facts. There is no reason to react in an excited manner. The issue should first be looked into and verified.”

Mr. Dwivedi, who is also the AICC media department chairman, had first suspected a conspiracy behind the release of the WikiLeaks cable saying, “Let us verify the truth. May be there is some conspiracy behind the pattern with which this all is being done.”

However, a clarification came quickly with the media department in-charge confining his remarks to “let us verify the truth”.

Asked what is there to doubt in the issue, Mr. Singhvi remarked, “I am not questioning anything and I am questioning everything.”

To a query on whether what he says indicates that the party is distancing itself from Mr. Gandhi’s remarks, Mr. Singhvi said, “The question does not arise. It is your interpretation.”

According to a secret U.S. diplomatic cable from New Delhi released by WikiLeaks, at a luncheon hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his residence in July 2009, Mr. Gandhi was asked by the U.S. envoy about LeT’s activities in the region and immediate threat to India.

“Gandhi said there was evidence of some support for the group among certain elements in India’s indigenous Muslim community,” the cable notes.

“However, Gandhi warned, the bigger threat may be the growth of radicalised Hindu groups, which create religious tensions and political confrontations with the Muslim community,” it says.