Sushil Kumar Shinde: Never used words Hindu terrorism in Parliament

Senior Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde on Saturday vehemently denied having used the expression "Hindu terrorism" in the Parliament, as claimed by the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Singh had said in the Parliament on Friday that the then Home Minister during the UPA regime, had used the term "Hindu terrorism" on the floor of the House which resulted in "weakening" of the fight against terrorism.

Refuting the allegation, Shinde said, "I never used the words 'Hindu terrorism' in the Parliament. I had used the expression meaning Hindu terrorism on a party forum in Jaipur. But I immediately corrected myself and withdrew it as the terrorism has no caste, creed or religion."

Shinde, who spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a function here, also alleged that the issue was being raked up in the wake of the Gurdaspur attack to divert attention from the present government's "inaction" in tackling the terrorism.

"In 2000/2001 an Air India flight was hijacked to Kandahar. The minister of the then government complied with the conditions put forth by the hijackers and released and escorted three terrorists including Maulana Masood and Omar Shaikh to Kandahar," Shinde pointed out.

This emboldened the terrorists, leading to attacks on the Red Fort and the Parliament complex, he claimed. The Narendra Modi government lacked the capability to control the terrorist attacks which were on the rise, he said.

The former Union Home Minister also questioned the wisdom of making prior announcement of the hanging of the 1993 Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon. When terrorists kill people, they do not make advance public announcement, he quipped.