Was saffron terror plot combined project of Congress and ISI, asks BJP on Rakesh Maria's revelations

The BJP on Tuesday slammed the Congress over ex-Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria's claim that Lashkar-e-Taiba planned to project the 26/11 terror attack as a case of Hindu terror, saying it raised questions whether the "saffron terror plot was the combined project of the Congress and Pakistan's ISI".

In his memoir 'Let Me Say It Now' released on Monday, Maria who helmed the investigation in 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, claimed that the LeT had planned to project the attack as a case of "Hindu terror" and Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Kasab was to die as Bengaluru's Samir Chaudhari.

Taking on the Congress over the claim, BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said that for the first time in the history of Islamic terrorism the perpetrators have attempted to mislead people about their identity.

"This raises serious questions, if the saffron terror plot was the combined project of the Congress and Pakistan's spy agency ISI. Around the same time, the UPA coined the saffron terror tag and Rahul Gandhi told US diplomats that India's homegrown groups are a greater threat to the country then Islamic terror groups," he said.

Rao alleged that Rahul Gandhi's comments seemed to have joint sponsorship of terror groups across the Line of Control and added that Kasab's fake ID proof and fake claims of the Congress not just have a coincidental resonance but also seem to be part of a larger conspiracy.

He demanded answers from the Congress, saying the party should come clean on this and should clarify whether ISI was also extended part of the Congress-led UPA.