Rahul Gandhi during his rally in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday
Rahul Gandhi's comment in Indore last evening that he had been told Pakistani agencies are approaching victims of the recent Muzaffarnagar riots to lure them into terrorism, has kicked up a political storm.
Mr Gandhi, campaigning in election-bound Madhya Pradesh, said, "An intelligence officer came into my room and told me that people from Pakistan's intelligence agencies are talking to a few Muslims boys whose relatives were killed in Muzaffarnagar riots. He said he tried to talk to the boys and convince them not to get influenced by these people."
The Congress number 2 said this while accusing the BJP, which rules Madhya Pradesh, of trying to divide the country and damage its secular fabric.
The BJP immediately attacked him and said it will complain to the Election Commission. "Rahul Gandhi has tried to point the needle of suspicion at Muslims by his remarks today...He has raised questions about the patriotism of Indian Muslims by saying they were approached by ISI. This is unfortunate. He should apologise for his remarks," BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain was quoted by PTI as saying.
The party's Ravi Shankar Prasad said Rahul Gandhi was "confirming that the ISI of Pakistan is interfering in the internal matters of India." He dismissed Mr Gandhi's allegations as "baseless" and said, "Rahul Gandhi has nothing to offer."
In Uttar Pradesh, where Muzaffarnagar, the epicentre of deadly riots last month is, Muslim clerics said this morning that Mr Gandhi's comment was "most unfortunate." They too have demanded an unconditional apology from the Congress leader, reports IANS.
A cleric, Shahar Qazi, Maulana Abul Irfan Miyan Farangi Mahali said in a statement, "It does not behove leaders of a national party like the Congress to give such cheap and hurtful statements against the Muslims...we are patriotic and would do anything for India."
Another prominent cleric accused Mr Gandhi of politicising the communal riots.
In September, an incident of alleged eve-teasing in an Uttar Pradesh village resulted in three murders that snowballed into the communal riots that killed 62 people in Muzaffarnagar and surrounding areas. Politicians from across political parties were booked and arrested for allegedly fanning communal tension.