Opposition Attacks PM Modi for Double Standards on Terrorism

NEW DELHI: In a startling revelation, Rohini Salian, special public prosecutor in the Malegaon 2008 case has revealed that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had asked her to go “soft” in the case after the NDA government came to power.

In an interview with The Indian Express Salian recalled how she had taken up the case on late police officer Hemant Karkare’s insistence.

“No madam, you go through the papers. His voice was shaking and he sounded very disturbed”, Salian told the daily. She said she was shocked to find that the accused were all Hindus.

The Opposition has reacted strongly to the report. “This is the true face of RSS and BJP and they just want to usher in fascism and nothing else. Terrorism has no religion and you cannot just distinguish on the basis names. These kinds of things would lead to disintegration of country”, Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Ashutosh told The Citizen. Such acts are equal to compromising on the national security, he said.

Salian said she got a call from one of the officers of the NIA last year who didn’t want to speak everything over the phone but instead wanted to meet her. “He came and said that there is a message that I should go soft... then on June 12, the same officer came and said there are instructions from higher-ups; someone else will appear instead of you”, Salian told The Indian Express. Salian said the contact was made by a senior official but declined to identify him saying he was just the “messenger.”

The Congress party reacted to the interview by targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi when contacted said,“Considering the fact that Narendra Modi was talking day in day out about ending terrorism, these revelations tell us something else. By doing so the government is doing nothing but empowering these elements which pose threat to national security.”

She further added, “You can’t be selective when it comes to terrorism on the lines of religion and doing so would be like providing the perpetrators with the voices.”

The Left parties joined the criticism against the government on this issue.“Since the arrival of the Modi government, they have been trying to influence all the sections of the government. In the Malegaon case, a series of acquittals has taken place, and they have clamped down on the NGOs as well”, CPI (M) leader Mohammed Salim told The Citizen. When asked if the NDA government was trying to influence the judiciary, Salim said, “they have been trying to but we have faith in judiciary, and justice can be delayed but can’t be denied.”

In a series of shocking revelations Salian also revealed that Sudhakar Dwivedi who she referred to as the Shankaracharya, would record conversations of sensitive meetings on his laptop. “I asked Karkare, why is he recording? He is a plant. He wants to show it to someone, a conspiracy hatched in the dark”, Salian told the English daily. These conversations were an important part of the investigation for Karkare and Salian.