PM Modi's assassination plot might be planted: Sanjay Nirupam

After the Pune Police intercepted an internal communication of Maoists revealing plans of a 'Rajiv Gandhi-type' assassination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam on Friday said this strategy might be "planted".

"I am not saying this is completely untrue, but it has been Prime Minister Modi's old tactic, since he was Chief Minister of Gujarat. Whenever his popularity declines, news of an assassination plot is planted. So, it should be probed how much truth is in it this time," he told ANI.

Meanwhile, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury downplayed the question and said the court should decide on the matter.

"There are security forces in the country. Also, courts are there. They will look into this. The security forces have been taking care of the politicians in India. I don't know (if it's real or not). Let court decide that," he said.

On Thursday, the Pune Police told a court that they seized a letter from the residence of one of the five persons they had arrested in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence.

"Modi-led Hindu fascism is bulldozing its way into the lives of indigenous Adivasis. In spite of big defeats like Bihar and West Bengal, Modi has successfully established BJP government in more than 15 states. If this pace continues, then it would mean immense trouble for the party on all fronts. Greater suppression of dissent and more brutal form of Misson 2016 (OGH)," the letter read.

"Com. Kisan and few other senior comrades have proposed concrete steps to end Modi-raj. We are thinking along the lines of another Rajiv Gandhi type incident. It sounds suicidal and there is a good chance that we might fail, but we feel that the party PB/CC must deliberate over our proposal. Targeting his road-shows could be an effective strategy. We collectively believe that survival of the party is supreme to all sacrifices," it added.

In the letter, it was also written that for Maoists, "defeating Hindu fascism has been our core agenda and a major concern for the party".