ISI didn't contact riot-hit youths: Home minister

The government has no reports of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency approaching riot-affected youths in Muzaffarnagar, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said Thursday.

"As per available information from central intelligence agencies, they do not have any input to suggest that Pakistan's ISI contacted youths of families belonging to the minority communities who were affected during the communal riots in Muzaffarnagar," Shinde said in a written reply to a question from BJP's Prakash Javadekar in the Rajya Sabha.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) later slammed Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for telling a "lie", and said he owed an explanation to the nation.

"Rahul Gandhi's lie has been exposed. The home minister has said there is no such report. Who told Rahul Gandhi that ISI is contacting the minority youth," Javadekar questioned.

Rahul Gandhi, in a rally before the assembly polls, had said he received intelligence reports of terror outfits approaching Muslim youths in the riot-hit areas.

"He also said he has met the youths and tried to convince them. Who did he meet? Nobody shared intelligence inputs and Rahul Gandhi met nobody," he said.

"He (Gandhi) owes an explanation to the nation about this lie," the BJP leader said.