Rahul Gandhi stirs row over Masood Azhar 'ji' comment, BJP says Congress chief loves terrorists

New Delhi: The BJP on Monday latched on to Rahul Gandhi’s reference to terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad’s head as “Masood Azhar ji” to throw “Rahul loves terrorists” barb at the Congress chief, as the Opposition party hit back, accusing its rival of deliberately twisting his comments made with sarcasm. Addressing a meeting of Congress workers in New Delhi, Rahul attacked the BJP, saying, “These people with 56 inch chest, you would recall, in their previous government, the current National Security Advisor Ajit Doval went in an aircraft with Masood Azhar ji and handed over Masood Azhar there in Kandhar.” Rahul noted it was Azhar who was responsible for the killing of at least 40 CRPF soldiers in the Pulwama attack on 14 February. Targeting the Congress chief, BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad tweeted, “Come on Rahul Gandhi ji! Earlier it was the likes of Digvijay (Singh) ji who called Osama ‘ji’ and Hafiz Saeed ‘sahab’. Now you are saying ‘Masood Azhar ji’. What is happening to Congress?” [caption id=“attachment_6157571” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Congress president Rahul Gandhi. PTI[/caption]

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala accused the BJP and a section of media for deliberately twisting Rahul’s remarks.

“Two questions to BJP and select ‘bhakt’ media, who deliberately seek to twist the ‘Masood’ sarcasm of Rahulji: 1) Did NSA Doval not escort and release terrorist Masood Azhar in Kandahar? 2) Did Modi_ji_ not invite Pakistan’s rogue ISI to investigate Pathankot terror attack?”. Another Union minister Smriti Irani also took a swipe at Rahul. “What is common between Rahul Gandhi and Pakistan? Their love for terrorists. Please note Rahul_ji_’s reverence for terrorist Masood Azhar — a testimony to #RahulLovesTerrorists,” she tweeted. In turn, Surjewala used the hashtag “BJP loves terrorists”. Azhar and two other terrorists, Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, were released from Indian prison in 1999 by the then BJP-led government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in exchange for the passengers held hostage on board IC-814 flight hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan. Azhar formed JeM after his release from jail. Since then, JeM, based in Pakistan, has been involved in terrorist attacks in India. The group was responsible for the attack on Indian Parliament on 13 December, 2001 in which nine security personnel and officials were killed. On 2 January, 2016, a heavily armed group of JeM attacked the Pathankot airbase in which seven security personnel were killed. JeM also carried out the attack on Uri brigade headquarters on 18 September, 2016, killing 17 soldiers and injuring 30 others. And the latest Pulwama attack.