New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Monday announced it would launch a countrywide agitation, which could "get aggressive" if need be, against the "indiscriminate arrests" of Hindu religious activists in the name of terrorism.

VHP's international general secretary Praveen Togadia told reporters here: "We have decided to launch a movement on the lines of our agitation over the Amarnath and Ram Setu issues against the targetting of Hindu leaders."

"If necessary, the agitation could turn aggressive also. There would be public rallies and demonstrations across the country," he said.

Togadia said: "The Congress-led Government at the Centre and Maharashtra had tarnished the image of the Army by letting the ATS arrest armymen."

He added there should be legal action against the Anti-Terrorist Squad for "wrongly implicating" Hindus in terror activities and violating their human rights.

In the same way Noida dentist Rajesh Talwar was acquitted after being framed wrongly in the Aarushi murder case and faced a media trial, Sadhvi Pragya Singh would be set free in the Malegaon bombings case for want of evidence, Togadia said.

Protest in Lucknow

Lucknow, Nov 17 (IANS) A group of Hindu sadhus from Uttar Pradesh Monday staged a demonstration at the assembly complex here, accusing the Congress party of "framing" a number of them in a case of terrorist attack.

The demonstration was held under the banner of the Akhil Bhratiya Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM), which also decided to present a memorandum to the prime minister against the the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Maharashtra police.

"Besides Hindu sadhus, the congress-led UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government is also flasely framing Hindu army officials for political benefits. This is being done to divert the attention away from the Islamic militancy that the country is facing for the past two and a half decades," state ABHM head Mahant Narayan Giri said.

Sadhvi Divya Giri of the Mankameshwar temple, Lucknow, accused the ATS of "mentally harrasing" Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a prime accused in the Malegaon blast case.

"Not even a terrorist in the country has been subjected to repeated narco-analysis tests as the ATS has been doing with Pragya. This is a conspiracy of the government to woo the Muslim voters," said Divya, who says she and Pragya are disciples of the same guru.

Mahant Giri added: "We also demand that the millions of Bangladeshis, who are living illegally in various parts of the country, should be driven out of here as they are one of the root causes of the increased terror activities in the country."

Sadhvi Pragya and nine others have been in the ATS custody for their alleged role in the Sep 29 bomb blast in the Maharashtra town of Malegaon that claimed six lives.

Hyderabad police team in Mumbai to probe twin blasts

Hyderabad, Nov 17 (IANS) While the Hyderabad police are awaiting to know from Maharashtra whether Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit and other suspects in the Malegaon bomb blast were also involved in the Mecca Masjid blast, a city police team has left for Mumbai to probe another terror strike here.

Hyderabad police commissioner B. Prasad Rao told IANS Monday that they have not so far received any information from the Maharashtra police linking the serving army officer and other suspects in the Malegaon bomb blasts with the Mecca Masjid blast.

Nine people were killed in the explosion during the Friday prayers at the historic mosque here on May 18 last year.

"We are not supposed to interrogate them unless we get some information about their possible involvement in Hyderabad blasts," said the police commisisoner.

The Mecca Masjid blast case, being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has not been solved even after a year.

No person directly linked with the blast was arrested though the police picked up dozens of young local Muslim men on suspicion.

The investigating agencies first blamed Pakistan- and Bangladesh-based terror groups for the blast at 17th century mosque, but after the recent arrests of some activists of rightwing Hindu groups by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra, they are looking into these elements' likely involvement in the mosque blast.

The city police chief said a police team was in Mumbai for investigations into the Aug 25 twin blasts at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat in Hyderabad, that killed 43 people Aug 25 last year.

The police team is likely to interrogate suspected Indian Mujahideen activists Akbar Ismail Choudhary and Aneeq Shafeeq Syed.

The two, arrested recently by Mumbai Police along with others, reportedly confessed that they planted the bombs to avenge the blast at the Mecca Masjid. They allegedly blamed Hindu groups for the blast at the mosque.

The late-night, low-intensity bomb explosion in Malegaon town of Maharashtra Sep 29 claimed six lives. Ten people, including Purohit and two Hindu sadhus, are in the ATS custody for their alleged involvement in the blast.

CPI-M slams Rajnath for supporting terror suspects

New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) "rabid communal outlook" had been exposed with president Rajnath Singh openly supporting "persons being investigated for the Malegaon blast and other terrorist attacks", the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) said Monday.

In a strong statement, the CPI-M politburo said: "The BJP leadership is making the dangerous argument that no person affiliated to the Hindutva organisations can be investigated for terrorist offences. This has blown up the BJP’s stance against terrorism and exposed its rabid communal outlook."

Hitting out at Rajnath Singh, the party added: "Whether it be the case of Lt. Col. Purohit or Pragya Singh Thakur, the BJP president has virtually absolved them."

It also accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP of "mounting a campaign to pressurise the police and administration not to pursue the cases of terrorism".

"The police investigation into the Malegaon blast and the coordinated enquiry with other states where related terrorist offences took place, must be conducted with vigour and the terrorist network and the culprits brought to book," the politburo stressed.

"The BJP and the RSS are mounting a campaign to pressurise the police and administration not to pursue the cases of terrorism which have assumed serious ramifications with the arrest of a serving army officer."

On Sunday, Rajnath Singh had slammed the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government "for conducting investigations inspired by political motives". Addressing a meeting of seers in Panipat, Haryana, he said politics in India had always had a deep relationship with religion and that the BJP would not tolerate their names being maligned.

Ten people have so far been arrested for the Sep 29 bombing in a Muslim-dominated neighbourhood in the small Maharashtra town of Malegaon that killed five people. Investigators are now examining if a Hindu terror conspiracy was involved in several other blasts - like the one of the Samjhauta Express train in 2007 - that have till date remained unsolved.

ATS is lying, Hindus can't be terrorists: V.K. Malhotra

New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) Hindus could not be terrorists because it was neither in their genes nor in their character, the BJP's chief ministerial candidate for Delhi V.K. Malhotra said Monday while accusing the Mumbai Police's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of lying and conspiring with the UPA government.

Ten people, including a self-proclaimed Hindu seer and a serving lieutenant colonel, have so far been arrested for the Sep 29 bombing in a Muslim-dominated neighbourhood in the small Maharashtra town of Malegaon that killed five people. Investigators are now examining if a Hindu terror conspiracy was involved in several other blasts.

Cautioning the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government against "Hindu bashing" that would be counter-productive, the Bharatiya Janata Party veteran said: "The ATS is lying and is doing all this by conspiring with the UPA government."

"So many incidents of terrorism have taken place in the recent months but the government failed to solve any. To hide their failure they have imagined and concocted 'Hindu terrorism'."

"Hindus by nature can't be terrorists. Neither is it in their genes nor in their character. We have also never said that all Muslims are terrorists," Malhotra added.

"This is nothing but vote bank politics just before the assembly and parliamentary elections. They should rather work on strengthening their intelligence."

The BJP, he said, was not against punishing those guilty of terrorism. "No persons involved in the various jihadi terrorists attacks has been subjected to narco tests but why are so called Hindu suspects are being subjected to such tests again and again?"

Malhotra added that the UPA government was "diverting the attention of the world from the real and proven culprits to so called Hindu terrorism".

Congress politicising Maharashtra anti-terrorist squad: BJP

New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party Monday came out strongly against the arrests of Hindu religious activists in connection with the Malegaon blasts and accused the Congress party of politicising the Anti-Terrorist Squad.

"The Congress party is giving a communal colour to terrorism and its government is indiscriminately arresting activists of nationalistic organisations through the ATS," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters.

Javadekar said the arrests had started after the BJP made an issue of terrorism in the wake of series of bombings at various places in the country and found strong support from the people.

The people are angry that the Congress-led Government had failed to check increasing terror activities, he claimed.

The BJP never spoke in terms of Islamic or Christian terrorism, but the Congress is doing it with an eye on the assembly elections (in six states) and the Lok Sabha elections next year, he said.

"The same Congress Government in Maharashtra had suspended the inquiry by the same ATS in serial bombings in seven suburban trains in Mumbai. And now they are framing Hindu leaders in this without any evidence. False news are being strategically planted in the media by the ATS."

He alleged that several Congressmen were hand in glove with terrorists. "For instance, the name of a Congress worker cropped up in the recent blasts in Guwahati. On earlier occasions, even Congress ministers were found having allegiance with terrorists," Javadekar said.

BJP's challenge to Congress to ban Hindu outfits

Bhopal, Nov 17 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday challenged the Congress to ban Hindu outfits, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal, saying it would have to face the consequences.

Talking to reporters, senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said: “The Congress party and its leaders, conspiring to defame Hindus, are often talking about imposing a ban on nationalist organisations like the RSS, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal. I openly challenge them to take any such action and face the music. The electorate will teach them a lesson at the hustings.”

Naidu, the party's election incharge for Madhya Pradesh, said "Whenever there are any elections, the 'dirty tricks department' of the Congress becomes active and whenever the Congress becomes weak, it targets nationalist organisations like the RSS to consolidate its vote bank."

This time around, the Congress is "using the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad as a tool to victimize and bring a bad name to Hindu ascetics and the Shiv Sena".

“The job of the ATS is to collect facts against the accused and present the case in the court but it is more busy giving a running commentary on the investigations being conducted by it,” said Naidu.

The BJP leader said the biggest challenge before the country today was "terrorism" but the politics played by the Congress over it would lead to disintegration of the country.

“The communal colour being given to terrorism by the Congress was a grave threat to the unity and integrity of the country,” he said.

IANS