A Hindu cannot be terrorist, says Haryana Minister Anil Vij

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij on Wednesday said there cannot be any term like 'Hindu terrorism', and added that a Hindu can never be a terrorist.

"A Hindu cannot be a terrorist. There cannot be any term like 'Hindu terrorism'. Hindu, by nature, can never be a terrorist. If Hindus had been terrorists, then no other terrorists can have existed," Vij told ANI.

Speaking on the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast case where 68 people were killed, the BJP leader said it's a very serious issue that the two people arrested from Pakistan in the matter have been released while the people from India are still treated as terrorists and call it 'Hindu terrorism'.

"This is a game played by the Congress party, and I believe on their instructions, these Pakistanis were released. They are freely roaming now and I think this party's aim was to establish the political scenario," he added.

Vij further said that a Hindu, by nature, can never be a terrorist.

"If Hindus had been terrorists, then no other terrorists have existed. However, because of political reasons, Congress party wanted to create Hindu terrorism to counter terrorism created where Muslim terrorists are involved," he asserted.

This is not the first time the minister had landed in a controversy as earlier this year he had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a better brand image than Mahatma Gandhi.

After receiving flak, he had withdrawn his statement.

In the blast case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge sheet against several right-wingers including Swami Aseemanand.