Digvijay retracts Karkare statement

Singh says issue was between him and the slain police official

Singh kicked up a storm on Saturday by saying slain Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad  chief Hemant Karkare had faced death threat from pro-Hindu outfits in the wake of his findings related to the Malegaon blast probe.

Speaking to reporters here, the senior Congress leader said: “I never said that right-wing activists were behind the terror attacks.

“But, it is a fact that I am on record saying that he (Karkare) was being threatened by some right-wing activists.”

Trying to dissociate the Congress from the issue, Singh said: “It’s not a Congress party issue... the issue was a conversation between Digvijay Singh and Karkare.”

Attacking the BJP, he maintained that Karkare’s life was under threat and the Opposition (BJP) lent its support to certain Hindu radical groups.

“I want to ask (L K) Advaniji and Rajnathji why they went to meet the prime minister after Sadhvi Pragya was arrested after the Malegaon blast. Why did Rajnathji go to the jail to meet her? The BJP has to answer these questions before they ask some to my prime minister,” Singh said.

The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister had claimed that Karkare, who he knew personally as the police officer hailed from Madhya Pradesh, had talked about a threat to his life from those opposed to his probe into the Malegaon blast in which Hindu extremists were accused of being involved.

Serious blow

The BJP slammed Singh for his statement on Karkare’s death and said it was a “serious blow” to India’s fight against terror and an attempt to divert attention from the several scams facing the ruling dispensation at the Centre.

Also, the party sought clarification from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the issue.