A 2012 video surfaced on Thursday showing senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh praising Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik. Singh’s remarks, hailing Naik as a “messenger of peace”, were latched on to by the BJP to paint the Congress as a “sympathiser of terrorist organisations”.
The video of a conference organised by Naik showed Singh saying “people like Zakir Naik can bridge the gap between Hindus and Muslims”.
BJP national spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said, “The Congress party’s sympathies are always with terrorist organisations. So, this is not surprising for us.” Rao also targeted Congress president Sonia Gandhi for having ‘wept’ for the terrorists who killed security officers in the 2008 Batla House encounter in Delhi.
Under fire from the BJP, Singh clarified that he spoke against religious fundamentalism and had appealed for communal harmony at the conference. Singh dared the Modi government to take action against Naik if it had evidence about his involvement with IS.
On Naik’s “provocative” speeches, Singh said, “All provocative speeches on religion by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians should be banned.” The Congress came out in support of Singh. “A society that is as diverse as India must rise only on the principles of brotherhood, peace and harmony, and that is what Digvijaya Singh,” said Randeep Singh Surjewala, party spokesperson.