What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
SRINAGAR: As the Congress trained its guns on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the alleged links between the party and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Talib Hussain Shah, the saffron party said that his presence was a conspiracy to target the party headquarters.
Talib was one of the two terrorists who were overpowered by villagers in the Reasi district in the Jammu Division on Sunday. Talib, who was also running a news portal, has photos with J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina.
J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina termed the presence of Shah in his party as a “conspiracy hatched by Pakistan to target him and the party headquarters”.
“He introduced himself as a journalist and took my interviews several times at my party office sometime back. He developed a close liaison with party activists and leaders after coming to our headquarters (Trikuta Nagar, Jammu),” Raina said.
Raina said that he came to know from the security agencies that Shah was a mole planted by Pakistan-based terrorists to target BJP headquarters and the leadership including him.
“The arrest of the duo is a big success for the security forces as a major conspiracy of Pakistan has been thwarted. I also came to know that he had shared the pictures of the BJP headquarters with his handlers across the border,” he said.
J&K Congress chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said the ruling party should answer the nation over the alleged presence of terrorists in their ranks and holding important party positions.
“The BJP should explain to the nation how the dreaded terrorists have been enjoying its patronage by getting important assignments in the party,” Sharma said.
“The main culprit in the sensational Udaipur murder incident is also an active member of the ruling BJP. The arrest and identification of LeT commander of Peer Panjal range Talib Hussain as a senior office-bearer of BJP is a matter of great concern,” Congress said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Raina said terror organisations are frustrated by BJP’s expansion in Jammu and Kashmir. They have repeatedly threatened him many times in the past and since they failed to target him, they hatched a conspiracy to plant their member in the BJP to target him and other leaders of the party.
BJP Minority Morcha president Sheikh Bashir said that Talib Hussain had resigned two months ago. “He was working with the BJP for a long time but had resigned himself two months ago,” said Bashir.
Rajinder Gupta, district president of Rajouri from where Talib belonged, said that anyone can become a worker of the BJP. “The party is growing and many people are joining it. We cannot take responsibility for everyone joining the party. However, I do not deny that he may have clicked pictures with some of our senior leaders” said Gupta.
The BJP also placed the blame on the online membership process, which lets people join the party without being subjected to a background check.
“A new issue has come up with this arrest,” party spokesman RS Pathania said. “Across the border, there are those who want to spread terror. Now anyone can become a member of the BJP online. I’d say this is a drawback since there is no system to check the criminal record or antecedents of the people who are taking membership online,” Pathania added.
Talib’s Facebook profile was taken down following his arrest on Sunday as dozens of photos showed him in the company of BJP’s J&K president Ravinder Raina, Lok Sabha MP from Jammu Jugal Kishore, and other senior J&K leaders and functionaries of the saffron party circulated on social media.
