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The court hearing the Malegaon blast case found that the charges against Sadhvi Pragya Singh were fake, BJP national president Amit Shah claimed on Monday.
“As far as Sadvhi Pragya is concerned, I want to say that a fake case was filed in the name of Hindu terror with the intention to show the country’s culture in bad light. The court hearing the case concluded that the charges were fake,” Shah said while addressing a press conference in Kolkata.
The National Investigation Agency, which took over the Malegaon blast case in 2011, had watered down the case against Sadhvi Pragya and others by dropping the charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The NIA special court granted Sadhvi Pragya bail but did not accept her exoneration, and ordered her to face trial under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
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Sadhvi Pragya was announced as the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Bhopal, triggering a wave of criticism from Opposition parties. She courted controversy last week with her remarks against Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare, who was killed in the line of duty during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. She claimed that Karkare died because she had cursed him “tera sarvanash hoga”.
Shah, who is in West Bengal to address BJP rallies, also said that Swami Aseemanand ji and others were wrongly accused in the Samjhauta Express blast case.
“The question is, where did Swami Aseemanand ji and the rest were wrongly accused in a fake case. Where are those behind the Samjhauta Express blast? Why were the ones caught earlier released?” he said.
Speaking on the contentious NRC and the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, Shah said refugees need not worry as after returning to power, the BJP will first bring the bill in Parliament and then implement the NRC across the country to weed out infiltrators.
“The refugees will be given citizenship and they will remain in this country with full dignity. They should not pay heed to the misleading statements by Mamata Banerjee,” the BJP president said.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on January 8 but was not tabled in Rajya Sabha where the BJP does not have majority.
The picture of Rajya Sabha will change in favour of the BJP by 2020 and there will be no problem in passing the bill, he said. To a question on alleged discrepancies over citizenship and educational qualifications in Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s poll affidavit filed at Amethi, Shah said the returning officer concerned should look into it.
Asked if the BJP will seek support from the Trinamool Congress in case it falls short of majority, he said, “The question does not arise. We will get full majority.”
Reiterating his charge that “democracy has ceased to exist in West Bengal”, Shah exuded confidence that people of the state will defeat the Trinamool Congress in this election.
with PTI inputs
