Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Monday created a fresh controversy by insinuating a connection between Gujarat CM Narendra Modi exhorting BJP workers in Bihar to teach State CM Nitish Kumar a lesson and the Bodh Gaya blasts happening a day after. His comment drew instant flak from both the BJP and Samajwadi Party even as the Congress remained evasive.
“Flip side of this. Amit Shah promises a Grand Temple at Ayodhya. Modi addresses Bihar BJP workers and asks them to teach Nitish a lesson. Next day Bomb Blasts at Mahabodhi Temple at Bodhgaya. Is there a connectIJ I don’t know. AllOW NIA TO COMPlETE INVESTIGATION PlEASE !,” Digvijay tweeted about blasts.
BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi dismissed the comment saying, “Digvijay Singh has the habit of seeing things where they are not. The Bodh Gaya blasts should be taken seriously. This poses a danger to the cultural and religious ethos of India. It is a serious attack on the country where a place of peace and non-violence has been targeted.”
Joshi said the attack on Mahabodhi Temple has raised apprehensions of other such places of worship being attacked by terrorists. “Sarnath is in my constituency. There are universities in Nalanda and Sanchi (which may be possible targets in future),” he said and hinted that the threat to Hindu Buddhist conclaves is more aggravated in an election year.
BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar said Digvijay’s comments should not be taken seriously as they have no meaning or significance. “He talks as if he has lost his balance,” Kumar said. His party colleagues Rajiv Pratap Rudy termed Digvijay’s comment as laughable.
Even Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agrawal disapproved Digvijay’s comment saying that he should not have made it.
Congress spokesperson Bhakta Charan Das tied himself in knots while replying to a volley of questions on the controversy. Remaining non-committal on whether the party supports or distances itself from Digvijay’s comment, he said that there should not be any kite flying on such a grave incident. He asked media not to read individual tweets in isolation but read all five of them in entirety. He said the Congress condemns the blasts and demands that the state government and NIA should both investigate the matter and punish the guilty.
The five tweets that Digvijay made also charged the media and the BJP with politicising blasts. . “Media and BJP - Reaction of Myanmar incidents quoting IB sources. Bihar Govt ignored IB input. Aren’t they doing Politics over the incidentIJ Aren’t they suggesting a Muslim involvement without full investigationIJ”
He even criticised the Nitish Kumar Government for keeping the security of Mahabodhi Temple in private hands despite intelligence warnings. He also asked intelligence officials and BJP to refrain from singling out any community for the serial blasts at Buddhist shrine and said everybody should wait for the NIA probe to get over before rushing to any conclusion.