India: Full text of Press Release by Aam Adami Party re the terror accused Aseemananda and his connection with RSS and Sangh Parivar

http://www.aamaadmiparty.org/news/statement-on-assemananda

Statement on Assemananda

Aseemananda, the main accused in the acts of terrorism of bombing the Samjhauta Express (February 2007), Hyderabad Mecca Masjid (May 2007), Ajmer Dargah (October 2007) and two attacks in Malegaon (September 2006 and September 2008)—which together took the lives of 119 people— in an interview to Caravan magazine, has made startling revelations saying that the top leadership of the RSS had sanctioned his participation in these acts of terror. Aseemananda has also revealed how affiliated organizations of the Sangh Parivar have been involved in planning and orchestrating violence on Christians’ in the Dangs district of Gujarat and elsewhere in the country. These revelations coming in the wake of organized acts of lumpen violence by organizations like the Sri Ram Sena,Indian Mujahideen, Shiv Sena, MNS, VHP, Bajrang Dal, Hindu Rashtra Sena and other religious extremist organizations point to an extremely disturbing trend of using violence & terror to achieve communal objectives. If such violent tendencies and organizations are not checked, they will come to pose a serious threat tothe unity in diversity of the country and indeed to the social fabric of the country.

According to the interview carried in Caravan magazine, Aseemananda has said that senior leaders of the RSS Indresh Kumar and Mohan Bhagwat (current head of the RSS) came to meet Aseemamanda in Dangs, Gujarat in July 2005 to discuss his plans to bomb Muslim public places, and said the following to him: “Swamiji, if you do this we will be at ease with it. Nothing wrong will happen then. Criminalisation nahin hoga (It will not be criminalised). If you do it, then people won’t say that we did a crime for the sake of committing a crime. It will be connected to the ideology. This is very important for Hindus. Please do this. You have our blessings.”

In the interview, Aseemananda has also said that Modi came and met him when Keshubhai Patel was CM of Gujarat, and had ordered the arrests of some of Aseemananda’s men (at the instance of LK Advani) for their involvement in communal riots. According to Aseemananda, Modi told him ““I know what Keshubhai is doing to you. Swamiji there is no comparison to what you are doing. You are doing the real work.Now it has been decided that I will be the CM. Let me come and then I will do your work. Rest easy”. While talking about the communal riots of February/March 2002, Aseemananda has said that the attacks on Muslims in Panchmahal district was organized directly by him, and that he received lots of financial and personal support from Modi for his actions in the Dangs, after Modi became CM again in October 2002.

Aseemananda’s revelations are extremely disturbing, since they point towards a systematic collusion between terrorist elements, the top leadership of the Sangh, and the CM of a state. Yet, the BJP and RSS have chosen to dismiss these serious questions by saying that the entire interview is concocted and a ‘pack of lies’. This is in spite of the fact that Caravan magazine has made audio recordings of the entire interview with Aseemananda public, and the audio recordings clearly show that Aseemananda has indeed said everything of his own volition, with complete freedom. The evidence thus lays bare the hypocrisy of the RSS and the BJP, which constantly talk about the safety and integrity of the nation, and at the same time support anti‐national, divisive activities of the most violent and dangerous kind.

We must remember that India is a diverse country consisting of people of many religions, castes, communities and such diversity is an asset which needs to be celebrated in the country. It is therefore important for all people in the country to be wary of and indeed shun such organizations which have become abreeding ground for spreading hatred and propagating the use of violence against those that they disagree with or whom they consider to be different. Such organizations, ironically, call themselves nationalist but actually pose a serious threat to the unity and integrity of our nation itself.

The top leadership of the BJP, including Mr. Modi himself owe their origins to the RSS and acknowledge that they draw their inspiration and much of their cadre from the RSS and its affiliated organizations within the Sanghparivar. In these circumstances, the following questions need to be asked of the BJP and its leadership.

1.Do they not regard such violent and indeed terrorist activities allegedly engaged in by members of the RSS, to be anti‐national or not?

2.Do they not regard the organized attempts by such organizations to spew venom and spread hatred against members of other communities to be anti‐national, and a threat to the integrity of the nation?

3. Will the BJP and its leaders not ask its members to shun such violent and divisive organizations and their activities?

4.What action does the leadership and the state governments of the BJP propose to take against the violent and divisive activities of its sister organizations?