The Congress cited an interview of NSA Ajit Doval in which he had said that the then BJP-led government was responsible for Azhar’s release in 1999 after an Indian Airlines plane was hijacked to Kandahar
Protesters hold a scratched photo of Jaish-e-Mohammad group chief, Maulana Masood Azhar, as they shout slogans against Pakistan. (File Photo: AFP)
A day after the BJP attacked Congress President Rahul Gandhi for calling Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief “Masood Azhar ji”, the Congress on Tuesday denounced the BJP for releasing the terrorist a decade ago.
The Congress cited an interview of National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval in which he had said that the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government was responsible for Azhar’s release in 1999 after an Indian Airlines plane was hijacked to Kandahar, Afghanistan.
In a series of tweets, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said: “Modi government’s NSA Ajit Doval ‘spills the beans’ and indicts BJP government in the release of terrorist Masood Azhar. Doval said ‘Releasing Masood Azhar was a political decision'”.
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“Will Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, (Union Minister) Ravi Shankar Prasad admit to the anti-national act now?” he asked.
He claimed that Doval, who was then in the Intelligence Bureau, in his interview also saluted the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance’s (UPA) policy vis-a-vis terror.
“UPA-Congress came with a categorical policy on hijacking. No concession, no talks. Why did the BJP government not show the same guts?” the spokesperson said.
मोदीजी के NSA, श्री अजित डोभाल ने उग्रवादी मसूद अजहर को विस्फोटक व बंदूक़ चलाने की जानकारी भी न होने का दिया ‘क्लीन चिट सर्टिफ़िकेट’-
1 मसूद को IED बम बनाना भी नहीं आता
2 मसूद को निशाना लगाना नहीं आता
3 अज़हर को रिहा करने के बाद टूरिज्म में 200% की वृद्धि#BJPLovesTerrorists
2/3 pic.twitter.com/u0Vyn8ptja— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) 12 March 2019
Gandhi on Monday said that “Masood Azharji”, now the chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) which claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing that killed over 44 CRPF troopers, was in an Indian jail and was taken to Kandahar by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and set free.
(With input from IANS)
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