'One should be very careful before making such a comment': Jay Panda on Rahul statement

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Jay Panda on Friday cautioned Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi to be more careful about the comments he has been making on public platforms of late.

Reacting to Gandhi's claim that he had received intelligence input about Pakistan's ISI approaching disgruntled Muslim youth after the riots in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, Panda said: "I don't know the basis of this information. Again, one should be very careful before making such comment, as it might hurt the sentiments of a large section of people."

"I have no further comments, except to say that we should not make casual comments about such things," he added.

On Thursday, while maintaining his claim that the BJP has been igniting communal fires across the country, Gandhi revealed at a rally in Indore that 10 to 15 Muslim boys, who had lost their families in the recent riots in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, are being contacted by Pakistani intelligence.

"Day before yesterday, a police officer came to my office. He told me that in Muzaffarnagar there are 10 to 15 Muslim boys, who have lost their brothers and sisters in the riots. He told me that people from the Pakistan intelligence agencies are starting to talk to surviving victims of Muzaffarnagar. The police officer told me that he is trying to dissuade the youth," Gandhi said in Indore.

Targeting the BJP, Gandhi further alleged that the opposition party is solely interested in gathering votes, while it is left to the ruling party to cool down the anger that survives in the aftermath of communal violence.

Violence broke out in the Kawal area of Muzaffarnagar on August 27, when members of a community returning from a panchayat meeting in Naglabadhod, three kilometres from Kawal, clashed with members of another community.