Shiv Sena lauds Malegaon blast accused for supporting 'Hindu cause'

Mumbai, Nov 1 : The Shiv Sena Saturday praised Sadhvi (Hindu monk) Pragya Thakur and the former army official who have been arrested by Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in connection with the Malegaon blasts, saying they were fighting for the 'Hindu cause'.

In a hard-hitting editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamna, the Sena said that while the government fails to protect Hindus from terrorism, it brands them as terrorist when they themselves take action.

The editorial accused the Congress of "pampering" to Muslims for its vote bank politics and said Muslim terrorists were busy eliminating generations of Hindus.

“Should the Hindus continue to remain mute, impotent idiots?” the editorial demanded.

It said it was natural that the Sadhvi and the retired army officer had chosen to protect the "Hindu cause".

The editorial exhorted Hindus to stand by them and consider them the "pride of the Hindu community" for their "courage to act" in the interests of the majority community.

Referring to Thursday's serial bomb blasts in Assam, which claimed 77 lives and left over 300 injured, the Shiv Sena said that Hindus would have been blamed for that attack too if Maharashtra's ATS investigated it.

The ATS Thursday began quizzing a serving lieutenant colonel for his alleged links to the Sep 29 Malegaon blasts that left six people dead. The ATS has also arrested two retired officers on similar charges.

The officer, currently posted at the Army Education Corps School in Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh, is suspected to have helped the Sadhvi, retired Major Ramesh Upadhyaya and his associate Sharad Kulkarni in procuring the RDX used in the blasts.

--IANS