Cong has double standards in terrorism, national security: BJP

BJP today accused Congress of adopting double standards on sensitive issues like national security and terrorism for the sake of vote bank politics.
"Though there should be freedom of speech and freedom to criticise anybody, nobody can criticise India as a nation," party national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said while referring to the JNU row at a press conference here.
He also said JNU Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar's recent statement that Afzal Guru was not his idol was a sign of 'changes' happening in the Delhi-based university due to "pressure" from the people of the country.
He said it was ridiculous for Congress to support phrases like 'judicial killing' of Guru.

"When the grand old party of India - Congress - supports phrases like judicial killing, it means you are accusing the Supreme Court of India, President and even the UPA government itself. It shows clear double standards of Congress even on sensitive issues of national security and terrorism," he said.
"As per our Constitution, three things are there for which every citizen should have firm commitment -- sovereignty, integrity and unity. There cannot be a scope of 'if' or 'why' in the things related to them," Trivedi said.

Whatever the issue - corruption, criminalisation or even terrorism and national security - Congress consistently does things for vote bank politics and it is unfortunate, he said.

He alleged that it was also part of politics for Congress to speak in favour of those accused of terror and use words of respect while addressing them.
"A Congress spokesperson used the term Afzalji to address Afzal Guru.
"Previously Digvijay Singh had used the term Osama ji (addressing Osama bin Laden).
"Then another Congress leader had used the phrase Hafiz sahib (to address Hafiz Muhammed Saeed)," he said.
"I want to ask them, why this type of respectable words like 'ji' and 'sahib' come from the side of the Congress party to address those who are accused of terror," he questioned.

On Kanhaiya's recent statement that "We want freedom in India, not freedom from India", Trivedi said he had earlier talked only about 'freedom' and not 'freedom within India'. "This change is due to pressure from people of the country."
The BJP leader also asked whether Kanhaiya had ever expressed solidarity towards martyrs. "Theyhad conducted so many programmes for those who are accused of terror, but never one for soldiers or those who laid down their lives."
Attacking UPA for filing the controversial second
affidavit on the Ishrat Jahan case, Trivedi said recent developments on the issue clearly showed "how things have changed automatically".

"Recently you have seen officers from the level of deputy secretary to the secretary, government of India, saying they were not involved in changing of affidavit," he said.
Taking a dig at Congress-led UDF and CPI(M)-led LDF in Kerala for taking a stand in favour of Abdul Nasar Madani, an accused in the Bengaluru blast case, he said, "Unfortunately, the very condemnable process of supporting those who are accused of terror for the sake of vote bank politics started from Kerala.