Parties attack Rahul for Pak intel claims on UP riot victims

Political parties today attacked Rahul Gandhi over his claims that intelligence agencies in Pakistan had approached victims of Muzaffarnagar riots to lure them into terrorism, with BJP questioning his authority in having access to such details while seeking an answer from the Home Minister in the matter.
BJP demanded a probe into the matter and action against the erring officials, even as it criticised the Intelligence Bureau (IB) as to how it could brief a Member of Parliament or a party office bearer.
Samajwadi Party, which extends outside support to UPA, and CPI, criticised Rahul, the Congress Vice-President, for raking up issues that sought to link Muslims to terrorism and could create hatred among the community.

"If Rahul Gandhi is saying that ISI is in touch with the youth in India, what action is government taking?
"The Home Minister must answer. If these (basis for the Congress Vice-President's remarks) are IB inputs, the Home Minister owes an explanation on Rahul Gandhi's revelations. This is very serious. We can't take politics today to that level where Congress wants to take it," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said in Srinagar.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who is BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate, also attacked Rahul and dared him to reveal the identity of such persons or apologise publicly for levelling "serious allegations" and "defaming" the entire community.

"It is your responsibility to make public the names of such youth (who were in touch with Pakistani agencies)... If you do not disclose the names, then you should apologise publicly for defaming an entire community," Modi said at a public meeting in Jhansi.
Another BJP leader, Ravi Shankar Prasad, termed Rahul's statement "very irresponsible" and questioned as to what the government was doing on such inputs while party colleague Yashwant Sinha said it amounted to a "very serious systemic issue" and the guilty officers should be punished.