Speaking about former Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Late Hemant Karkare, the outgoing speaker of Lok Sabha and Member of Parliament from Indore, Sumitra Mahajan said that Karkare became a martyr because he died in the line of duty but he should be called out if his role as a police officer was not correct, as reported by Indian Express.
“There are two aspects to Hemant Karkare. He became a martyr because he died in the line of duty, but if his role as a police officer was not correct, we will say it was not correct,’’ she said.
She added that though she did not have any proof to back it, she had heard that senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh was a friend of Karkare. She also alleged that when Digvijay Singh was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, he used to level accusations on the RSS of making bombs and being a terror outfit. Mahajan said that the Maharashtra ATS had made arrests from her constituency Indore at the behest of Singh.
Mahajan cited the example of Dilip Patidar who had disappeared in police custody and never returned after he was picked up by Maharashtra ATS for questioning from Indore in November 2008 and said that Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur was not the only one to be subjected to custodial torture. Alleging that Patidar was killed in police custody, Mahajan said that the issue of his disappearance was raised in Parliament as well as in courts. “These are the facts, someone should give the answers,” she added.
Responding to the allegations made by Mahajan against Digvijay Singh, he took to Twitter and said he was honoured to be associated with Ashok Chakra awardee Hemant Karkare and that he has always supported people who talk about national interest, national unity, and integrity.
सुमित्रा ताई, मुझे गर्व है कि अशोक चक्र विजेता शहीद हेमंत करकरे के साथ आप मुझे जोड़ती हैं।आपके साथी उनका अपमान भले ही करें, मुझे गर्व है कि मैं सदैव देशहित, राष्ट्रीय एकता और अखंडता की बात करने वालों के साथ रहा हूँ। https://t.co/6vD0i0UZF2
— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) April 29, 2019
He also said that he has always been against those creating religious disharmony. Singh added that he was proud that he recommended banning both Bajrang Dal and SIMI.
सुमित्रा ताई, मैं धार्मिक उन्माद फैलाने वालों के हमेशा ख़िलाफ़ रहा हूँ। मुझे गर्व है कि मुख्यमंत्री रहते हुए मुझमें सिमी और बजरंग दल दोनों को बैन करने की सिफ़ारिश करने का साहस था। मेरे लिए देश सर्वोपरि है, ओछी राजनीति नहीं ।
— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) April 29, 2019
Digvijay Singh is the Congress candidate from Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency against Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur who is contesting on BJP ticket. Sadhvi, after her candidature was announced from Bhopal had levelled the allegations of extreme custodial torture on Late Hemant Karkare.
It may be noted the Digvijay Singh is one of the prominent proponents of the Hindu Terror theory. He had even blamed RSS for the Mumbai terror attacks.
