Cong tries to downplay Rahul remark

“Rahul Gandhi’s view is that terrorism and communalism of all types are a threat to India. We need to remain vigilant against acts of terrorism of all kinds no matter who commits them,” AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said in a release, issued on Rahul’s behalf.

The statement came hours after the media reported about the WikiLeaks cable, which claimed that Rahul Gandhi had told US Ambassador Timothy Roemer at a luncheon in 2009 that growth of “radicalised Hindu groups”, which create religious tensions in India, could pose a bigger threat to the country than activities of groups like LET.

The Congress took the damage-control exercise by issuing the statement. Dwivedi, also the AICC media department chairman, first suspected a conspiracy behind the release of WikiLeaks cable. “Let us verify the truth. May be there is some conspiracy behind the pattern with which this all is being done,” he said. But Dwivedi quickly clarified his stand and confined his remarks to “let us verify the truth”.

Another spokesman Abhishek Singhvi refused to react and said they were still verifying WikiLeaks. When asked about the issue, the Singhvi evasively remarked, “I am not questioning anything and I am questioning everything.” He, however said, the party wasn’t distancing itself from Rahul’s remarks.

Taking advantage of the chance to attack the Congress, the BJP and the RSS said Rahul’s comments “seriously” compromised India’s fight against terror and sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s response to the Congress scion’s reported views.

“In one stroke, Rahul Gandhi has sought to give a big leverage to the propaganda of all extremist and terrorist groups in Pakistan and also some segments in the Pakistani establishment. It would also seriously compromise India’s fight against terror as also our strategic security,” BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters here.

Senior RSS leader Ram Madhav said, “It is shocking that there is a race in the senior Congress leadership to indirectly or directly support jehadi terror and to project Hindus as terrorists in this country, that too in gross violation of established diplomatic norms and procedures.”