The widow of slain Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare today slammed senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh for claiming that her husband feared for his safety from hardline Hindu groups, who were upset over his probe into the Malegaon bomb blast.
Talking to reporters here, Kavita Karkare accused Singh of playing votebank politics and denied that any conversation had taken place between her husband and the Congress leader, as claimed by the latter.
"When my husband was investigating the Malegaon blast and was looking for Hindu accused, there were reactions from Hindu organisations. Similarly, when earlier he was looking for Muslim accused, there was reaction from that community," she said, adding such reactions were natural.
Kavita said it was wrong to suggest that Hindu groups were linked to the 26/11 terror attacks. "Such statements will mislead people and benefit Pakistan."
"Mockery of my husband's sacrifice for political gain should stop," she said.
Singh has said hours before 26/11 attacks, Karkare had called him to say his life was under threat. The Congress leader said Karkare was depressed and worried by threats and personal attacks made in newspapers of Hindu organisations.
"I had spoken to him three and a half hours...it was between 6 and 7 PM on 26/11....I was very shocked when I came to know that he was killed," he said.
Digvijay Singh stoked a controversy with his claim that slain Mumbai ATS chief Hemant Karkare had called him hours before the 26/11 terror strikes, saying that he feared for his safety from Hindu extremists, triggering a strong reaction from the BJP.
"I had spoken to him three and a half hours...it was between 6 and 7 PM on 26/11....I was very shocked when I came to know that he was killed", he told reporters today.
Singh claimed that Karkare had talked about a threat to his life from those opposed to his probe into the Malegaon blast in which Hindu extremists were accused.
"When I called him he said, he was receiving some threat calls. He did not know who was calling. An article was published in a magazine linked to RSS against his son. It alleged that his son had got some Rs 50 crore contract from Dubai while his son was just 17-years-old," he said.
Suggesting that he and Karkare had come closer after he congratulated the slain ATS chief over the arrests in the Malegaon blasts, Singh said that Karkare was a "little depressed" that top leaders of BJP including Rajnath Singh were questioning his integrity.
"After Malegaon blast, we nabbed people about whom I had prior knowledge. They were involved in terrorist activities. They were involved in (Mau) bomb blast and Bhopal bomb blast. I knew all these", Singh, a former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, said.
BJP slams Digvijay
BJP today slammed Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh for his "irresponsible statement" on slain Mumbai ATS chief Hemant Karkare, saying it was a "serious blow" to India's fight against terror and was an attempt to divert attention from scams facing the UPA.
The party also demanded a clarification from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on their stand over Singh's comments.
BJP Chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad strongly condemned Singh's "unfortunate" remarks yesterday that Karkare had informed him about the pressure from certain Hindu organisations as he was investigating cases allegedly involving Hindu terror groups.
"The country's security, fight against terror and investigations into the 26/11 attacks case has suffered a serious blow due to Digvijay Singh's comments. Terrorists from across the border will question the entire 26/11 attacks," Prasad told reporters here.
"Terrorists from across the border and their patrons are going to lap it up," he said.
He saw a "deliberate design" behind Singh's comment, saying, "it is an attempt to distract the embattled UPA and Congress party, which is facing a barrage of corruption charges. Congress is finding itself seriously handicapped".
The BJP leader alleged that Singh was making such statements to gain political mileage as he has been marginalised in the Congress. "He should find better ways to gain publicity and not make statements which harm national security," he said.
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