On Monday (6th May), senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor publicly extended his support to Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Maharashtra Assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar. This came a day after Waettiwar alleged the involvement of an RSS-linked cop in Hemant Karkare’s death, thereby absolving Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab of the murder.
Speaking with news agency ANI, Shashi Tharoor argued that the allegations should be seriously investigated and demanded a forensic investigation to probe the allegations. It is pertinent to note that, in the past, courts have not just taken cognisance of this allegation but have also junked pleas alleging the same.
Furthering the conspiracy theory, ‘26/11 RSS ki sazish’, already busted by the judiciary, Shashi Tharoor argued that the nation has every right to know what really happened (around Hemant Karkare’s death).
Speaking with ANI in Pune regarding Wadettiwar’s allegations, Congress candidate from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor said, “The matter is extremely serious. Our concern is that when the LoP points to something which is an allegation that has been in the public domain for some time and which featured in a book by the former IG of police, Mushrif, who said that the bullets found in Karkare’s body could not have been fired by the Ajmal Kasab and that it could have been fired by a police revolver, it seems to me that this allegation should have been seriously investigated. And it is not too late. Because on such an important matter, the nation has every right to know what really happened…We are not saying that the allegation is definitely true. We are saying it should be investigated.”
#WATCH | Pune: On statement of Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar about the killing of former Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says, "…It seems to me that this allegation should have been seriously investigated. And it is not too late. Because on… pic.twitter.com/TdB6scnTfD
— ANI (@ANI) May 6, 2024
Wadettiwar allegations and SM Mushrif’s book couldn’t stand the test in the court of Law
It is pertinent to note that, yesterday, after facing massive backlash for his allegations, Congress leader Wadettiwar told reporters that he made the contentious remarks based on the book written by SM Mushrif. Click here, to read in detail about the controversial man SM Mushrif who had authored books to absolve Pakistani terrorists for several terror attacks and instead pinned the blame on ‘Brahminists’ adding that it is a major conspiracy of the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
SM Mushrif is a controversial former Inspector General of Police (IGP). He wrote a book titled ‘Who killed Karkare? The Real Face of Terrorism in India’, claiming that the then ATS chief Hemant Karkare was killed by “Hindu radicals”.
According to SM Mushrif, Islamist terrorism in India is a figment of imagination, a facade created by the Intelligence Bureau to cover up the ‘real terrorism’ in the country perpetrated by Brahminists to establish Brahminist hegemony. He went further to allege that RSS is ‘India’s number 1 terrorist organisation’. He also wants that the secularists of the country should approach the Supreme Court and challenge the UAPA which is used against terrorists, in other heinous crimes as well as anti-national activities.
It is pertinent to note that in 2018, a decade after the Mumbai terror attack, Bombay HC had refused to order a probe into former ATS chief Karkare’s death and junked a petition alleging that his killing during the 26/11 terror attack was a conspiracy hatched by “Right Wing extremists”. Incidentally, the PIL relied on S M Mushrif’s book ‘Who Killed Karkare’. Additionally, he was also summoned by the Bombay High Court in 2010 in connection with his propaganda book.
Shashi Tharoor targets Ujjwal Nikam
Apart from demanding an investigation, Shashi Tharoor didn’t condemn the remarks of his party colleague Vijay Wadettiwar who had called Ujjwal Nikam, the former senior public prosecutor who fought the case against Kasab, a “traitor who suppressed the fact“.
Targeting the then prosecutor and BJP candidate in the ongoing elections, Ujjwal Nikam, Shashi Tharoor alleged that he had already propagated an unjustified myth that the terrorist was served biryani in jail.
Tharoor said, “We already had known that he (Ujjwal Nikam) had propagated this unjustified myth that the Pakistani terrorist was served biryani in prison and that is something that shows him in a very poor light. If, indeed he has already revealed his political bias in that moment, then there is every reason to worry whether his political bias had influenced any other of his stands. We are not saying that the allegation is true. We are saying it should be investigated.”
. No question of a clean chit to Kasab or any compromise on terrorism. Listen to what I said. I reiterated that I am proud that the UPA government dealt with the attackers in an exemplary fashion. Kasab was tried, found guilty of multiple murders and executed. No one is letting…
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 6, 2024
Several prominent netizens have slammed the Congress leader for absolving Kasab based on unsubstantiated allegations that further’ conspiracy theories devised by Pakistan. Responding to a few X users, Tharoor issued a ‘clarification’ claiming that he is not giving clean chit to Kasab. He claimed that if there is “evidence”, the allegations must be investigated, prompting widespread criticism from netizens for claiming that there is evidence in this matter.
Again @ShashiTharoor you play games. Why say .. if there is evidence … You could have well said… People who claim otherwise should give evidence first. What is this statement about forensic investigation … for an idiotic statement without any evidence made by a politician? https://t.co/wfmuo8gYeI
— Mohandas Pai (@TVMohandasPai) May 6, 2024
Strikingly, the allegations rely solely on a book by SM Mushrif, which has been known to courts for decades. However, rather than accepting it as ‘evidence’, the courts have dismissed pleas based on it, suggesting that the book solicits no credence in the court of law.
