Congress sees conspiracy behind WikiLeaks cable release

NEW DELHI - The Congress on Friday issued a statement saying it suspected a conspiracy behind the release of the WikiLeaks cable, which says Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi had told United States Ambassador to India, Timothy Roemer, that the growth of ‘radicalised Hindu groups’ is a bigger threat to the nation than the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).

With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticizing Gandhi for his comments on the issue, the Congress issued a statement saying: “Rahul Gandhi’s view is that terrorism and communalism of all types is a threat to India. We need to remain vigilant against acts of terrorism of all kinds, no matter who commits them.”

“Let us verify the truth. Maybe there is some conspiracy behind the pattern with which this all is being done, said Congress General Secretary Janardan Diwedi, when asked about his reaction to the WikiLeaks release.

The BJP condemning Gandhi’s remarks, pointed out that while the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has often said that Naxalism and cross-border terror pose the biggest threat to India’s internal security, Gandhi had in one stroke, given a ‘big leverage’ to the propaganda of all terror groups in Pakistan.

“The statement underscores how little Rahul Gandhi knows about India. The PM has publicly acknowledged that Maoism and the terrorist threat from across the border are the biggest challenges before India, and Rahul Gandhi says certain lunatic, marginalised Hindu radical groups are the biggest threat?” said BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad.

“It is irresponsible. It is in the public domain and the US Government has neither denied nor confirmed it. Therefore, it has sanctity. In one stroke, Rahul Gandhi has sought to give a big leverage to the propaganda of all terror groups operating from Pakistan and certain segments of the Pakistan establishment,” he added.

Prasad further said such remarks encroach upon India’s strategic security and fight against terrorism.

“If he sees a fringe radical Hindu group as the biggest threat in spite of so many terrorist attacks, including 26/11 in which involvement of Pakistani groups is confirmed, then it only underscores how ignorant he is about India and its problems,” he added.

The BJP also pulled up Gandhi for making such remarks to a foreign diplomat and not before the Indian Parliament and said the opposition would take up the issue in next Parliament session and also before the people.

Senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar said Gandhi’s remarks shows ‘crass communalism and jaundiced world view’.

According to a secret US diplomatic cable from New Delhi released by WikiLeaks, at a luncheon hosted by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at his residence in July 2009, Rahul Gandhi was asked by the US ambassador about LeT’s activities in the region and immediate threat to India, to which he said there was evidence of some support for the group among certain elements in India’s indigenous Muslim community, the cable notes.

“However, Gandhi warned, the bigger threat may be the growth of radicalised Hindu groups, which create religious tensions and political confrontations with the Muslim community,” the cable says. (ANI)