Amit Shah tears into Rahul Gandhi on JNU issue

In a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi, the BJP chief asked if Rahul wanted another division of India

In a no-holds-barred attack, BJP chief Amit Shah today accused Rahul Gandhi of supporting "traitors" who shouted anti-India slogans in JNU and asked Sonia Gandhi to make Congress party's stand clear whether freedom of expression meant supporting country's division.

He also questioned them if it meant supporting Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and such terror attacks and asked Gandhis to apologise to nation if their party is sensitive to the feelings of martyrs' families.

Asserting that the shouting of slogans against India and in favour of terrorists like Guru amounted to treason, he told the media that BJP would not allow such an incident to take place in any part of the country.

What was more worrisome was the support given by Rahul to the incident, he said.

"If Rahul Gandhi wants to support it in the name of freedom of expression, then I will ask the Congress party if that if there can be a bigger evidence of treason than the slogans which were shouted there.

"I want to ask Congress if it as a party supports the statements made by its vice president Rahul Gandhi? It should answer this. I want to ask Rahul Gandhi when you support treason in the name of freedom of expression, then do you spare a thought for the families of those soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for the country?" Shah said.

The BJP chief wondered how long Congress will continue with its vote bank politics and asked if it worries about "providing shelter" to anti-national activities while pursuing its vote back politics.

Congress spokespersons were still supporting these ant-national activities, he said, and took a jibe at its chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala for calling the Parliament attack convict 'Afzal Guruji'.

"What is there in the heart at times comes out," he said.

Earlier in the day, Shah wrote in his blog that Rahul had "proved" that national interest had no place in his mind and asked if he had joined hands with separatist forces and wanted another division of India.

Speaking on the raging controversy for the first time, Shah asked Congress president Sonia and Rahul a host of questions and demanded that he apologise for his stand on the JNU issue, saying support to anti-national forces in the name of the Left's progressive ideology is not acceptable.