BJP Calls It a “Strong Rebuff” to Congress’s ‘Hindu Terror’ Narrative
Party demands apology from top Congress leadership, alleges past remarks were politically motivated and misleading
NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday described the discharge of four accused in the 2006 Malegaon blast case as a major political and ideological vindication, intensifying its attack on the Indian National Congress over its past references to “Hindu terror” and “saffron terrorism.”
Addressing a press conference, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia alleged that the Congress leadership had deliberately coined such terms during its tenure at the Centre to divert attention from governance failures and pursue appeasement driven politics. He argued that recent developments in the case expose what he called a “fabricated narrative” that unfairly targeted an entire community.
Bhatia further demanded a public apology from senior Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, accusing them of being part of a broader political strategy that, according to him, sought to malign Hindu identity for electoral considerations.
Referring to the timeline of the incident, the BJP leader noted that the Malegaon blast occurred during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s tenure. He alleged that instead of addressing security lapses, the Congress leadership attempted to reshape the narrative by introducing controversial terminology linking terrorism with religious identity.
The BJP also criticised former Union ministers Shivraj Patil and P. Chidambaram for their past statements, which, it claimed, contributed to the propagation of the “saffron terror” discourse. Bhatia said both leaders should acknowledge their role and issue clarifications in light of recent legal developments.
The controversy has once again brought political attention back to the 2006 Malegaon blast case, with the ruling party using the latest court decisions to question the opposition’s past approach to national security and communal narratives. Meanwhile, Congress has yet to formally respond to the BJP’s latest allegations.
The issue is expected to remain politically charged, as both parties continue to frame the narrative in line with their broader ideological positions ahead of upcoming electoral contests.
