Zee Media Bureau/Manisha Singh
New Delhi: Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed sparked a controversy on Wednesday when he said that Bharatiya Janata Party and Pakistan’s ISI rejoice when there are riots in India.
The Congress leader told reporters that riots lead to polarization, something which the BJP benefits from in terms of votes.
"Whenever there are riots in this country, two types of people rejoice - the ISI in Pakistan and the BJP in India," Ahmed was quotes as saying.
He also claimed that Pakistan`s ISI gets more funding from `40-42` Islamic countries in the name of protecting Muslims in India when riots take place.
Also hitting at Narendra Modi, the Congress leader said that there was a difference between 2002 Gujarat riots and other riots in the country. He maintained that in the case of Gujarat, on whom there was responsibility (of stopping the riots), monitored and presided over it.
At the same time, he rejected the comparison between Gujarat riots and anti-Sikh riots of 1984.
This is not the first time that that he has made statements on these lines. Congress general secretary had said in October last year that whenever communal riots happen in the country Pakistan`s ISI and India`s BJP are happy.
"Whenever there is a riot in India, Pakistan`s ISI is happy....It gets huge money from Islamic countries in the name of protecting Muslims of India. While it gets money, BJP gets votes due to riots... BJP benefits from communal disturbances by engineering riots. It reached the figure 182 seats in Lok Sabha from its earlier position of only two seats by doing so," he told a news agency then.
The BJP today hit back at the Ahmad saying that a desperate Congress was trying to communalise the elections.
BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman wrote on the micro-blogging site Twitter - “During 1984 anti-Sikh riots and massacre, the BJP protested an the Congress `rejoiced`.” She asked the Congress leader whether there was any reconsideration now?
In another post she wrote - “In the Valley`s ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits the ISI `rejoiced`, the BJP protested and the Congress was helpless.”
1/n @Ahmad_Shakeel During 1984 anti-Sikh riots and massacre, the BJP protested & the Congress 'rejoiced' (?)! Any reconsideration now?
— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) January 8, 2014
2/n @Ahmad_Shakeel In the Valley's ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits the ISI 'rejoiced', the BJP protested and the Congress was helpless.
— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) January 8, 2014
Another BJP leader Sidharth Nath Singh posted on Twitter - “Congress desperate to communalise election. Rahul ISI Muzaffarnagar, PM comment on Modi ji and now Shakeel Ahmed equating ISI and BJP to riot dividends.”
Congres despo 2 communalise election. Rahul ISI muzafngr, PM comment on Modiji n now Shakeel Ahmed equating ISI n Bjp to riot dividends.
— Sidharth Nath Singh (@sidharthnsingh) January 8, 2014
