Jul 3@ 3:09 PM //
Congress today came down heavily on BJP over the former RAW Chief A S Dulat’s claim that the response to the Kandhar plane hijack in 1999 was goofed up. Mr Dulat said in an interview to a private TV channel the hijackers managed to take the plane to Kandahar in Afghanistan as no clear instructions were given to the police when the Indian Airlines plane landed in Amritsar. Briefing media persons in New Delhi, party spokesperson Ajoy Kumar said the remarks by Mr. Dulat explain how crisis management of the then BJP led government failed miserably and plane was allowed to leave Amritsar. He said three terrorists were released at Kandahar after the hijack. Mr. Kumar said the ruling BJP should come out clean on the issue and tell the people why the terrorists were allowed to go and who were responsible for this.
Mr Kumar also said the interview of the former RAW chief has brought certain disturbing facts in the open including that the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was in active communication with the Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin and even admitted his son to a medical course. Congress also raked up the post-Godhra riots issue against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, latching onto Mr Dulat’s claims to demand that Mr Modi apologise for the communal violence in 2002 when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
On the other hand, BJP today said the decision to release terrorists in 1999 Kandahar plane hijack was taken at the highest level and the government had consulted each political party at that time. Talking to reporters in New Delhi, party spokesperson M J Akbar criticized the Congress for attacking BJP on the decision. He questioned the opposition party whether over 400 Indians who were in the plane should have been allowed to die at that time. He also rejected the claim of former RAW chief A S Dulat that Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was in active communication with the Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin and even admitted his son to a medical course.
He said the BJP led government had nothing to do with it and it is the former Union Minister Farooq Abdullah who should be answerable if this was the case. Mr. Akbar also slammed the Congress for raising 2002 Gujarat riots issue and said that during UPA rule, several probes were conducted and nothing was found against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the then state Chief Minister.