Malegaon blast acquittals: Congress questions justice and government's stand

The Congress Party has always stood firmly against terrorism. Through the sacrifices of Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi, the party has paid the ultimate price in the fight against terrorism.

Emphasising that terrorism has no religion or colour and a terrorist must be punished, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Harshvardhan Sapkal questioned whether the state government, which has decided to approach the Supreme Court over the Mumbai railway blasts verdict, will also do the same in the Malegaon bomb blast verdict.

Speaking to the media at Tilak Bhavan regarding the Malegaon bomb blast verdict, Sapkal said, “The 2008 Malegaon blast led to the death of six people and injured over 100—this is a matter of fact. The then Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Home Minister R.R. Patil, and Hemant Karkare, the investigating officer in the case, had followed up on the matter rigorously. We remember them today. Also relevant today is the statement made by Special Public Prosecutor Rohini Salian, who had said that after the change in government at the Centre, NIA officials asked her to adopt a lenient stand towards the accused in the Malegaon blast case.”

“While the court has acquitted all the accused, the question of who carried out the bombing remains unanswered. The government's stand must be against terrorism. If the state is willing to move the Supreme Court in the railway blast case, then it must do the same for the Malegaon case. The government cannot adopt a double standard. Just as the accused have been acquitted today, let’s not forget that the first terrorist in independent India, Nathuram Godse, assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. Out of the seven accused in that case, six were convicted, while Savarkar was acquitted. However, the Kapoor Commission report had pointed fingers at Savarkar,” he added. 

India