Hafiz Saeed Congratulated Congress Government on "Hindu Terror": Rajnath Singh

New Delhi:  Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh took on the Congress today, accusing the previous UPA government it led of “weakening India’s stand on terrorism” by using the term “Hindu terrorists.”

“The home minister in the UPA government used the term Hindu terror and Hindu terrorist… It gave Pakistan a chance to speak and Hafiz Saeed congratulated the Indian home minister,” Mr Singh said in Parliament.

“Terrorism is terrorism, it has no religion, no caste,” the Home Minister said in a statement in the Lok Sabha on the Gurdaspur terror attack earlier this week.

Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, is among India’s most wanted men and roams free in Pakistan, often making provocative anti-India speeches.

Rajnath Singh has told Parliament there is overwhelming evidence that the three terrorists who attacked Punjab on Monday killing seven people, came from Pakistan by crossing the Ravi river.

Like in the Rajya Sabha or Upper House where he made his statement yesterday, there was no discussion on the Gurdaspur attack in the Lok Sabha, with a slogan-shouting opposition forcing yet another adjournment.

The Congress and other opposition parties have vowed to disrupt Parliament till the ruling BJP removes three top leaders caught in scandals.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday slammed the Congress leadership, saying it had “failed the test” by not allowing a discussion in Parliament on national security.

The BJP has also severely criticised the Congress for the comments of its leaders like Digvijaya Singh on the execution yesterday of Yakub Memon for his role in the 1993 Mumbai blasts.

As a debate on capital punishment raged, Digvijaya Singh, on Thursday, tweeted, “Yakub Memon hanged. Exemplary urgency and commitment has been shown by Govt and Judiciary in punishing an accused of Terror. I hope similar commitment of Govt and Judiciary would be shown in all cases of terror irrespective of their caste creed and religion.”

Rajnath Singh said Yakub Memon was given every opportunity to defend himself and asked the country to be united on issues like terrorism. “We must take terrorism as a challenge and should not project ourselves as divided so that we can succeed in defeating it,” he said.