Congress defends itself on Samjhauta

Pilloried by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for weakening the case of India on 26/11 by providing Pakistan a weapon to embarrass the country on the Samjhauta Express blast with the “Hindu group link”, Congress on Tuesday said a democratic nation does not sweep things under carpet.

“The difference between a democratic state and a non-transparent state is that a democratic state does not sweep things under carpet. That is the manner in which a democracy gets strengthened,” said Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari.

He said that yardstick applies to the BJP also and rather than keep accusing the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and deflecting attention, it should reflect.

“The BJP and RSS should reflect as to why organizations and individuals allegedly involved in terror draw support and sympathy of the ideology of RSS-BJP combine,” Tiwari said.

“They should seriously introspect. They should see that such ideologies need to be purged,” he said.

Earlier, the Union Home Minister said nothing on the blast could be shared with Pakistan at this stage as demanded by the latter.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office has summoned the acting Indian High Commissioner to seek details over the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast, reports said.

The move comes in the wake of Swami Aseemanand, the main accused in the bombing case, purportedly confessing on the role of Hindu extremists in the incident.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has announced cash rewards upto Rs 22 lakh for any information that would help track down three prime suspects in the Samjhauta Express bomb blast in 2007.
The NIA announcement comes a day after Pakistan officially sought progress report on the bomb blast in the Samjhauta Express, which killed 68 people, including Pakistanis.