There is nothing called
Hindu terrorism: V.K. Malhotra
By
Mayank Aggarwal
New
Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Vijay Kumar Malhotra, the Bharatiya Janata
Party's (BJP) chief ministerial candidate in Delhi, says it
is "absolutely wrong" to implicate Hindus in the
Malegaon bombings and insists there is "nothing called
Hindu terrorism".
Taking
a hard line on an issue bound to figure in upcoming assembly
elections, Malhotra said the Maharashtra and central governments
had conspired to arrest a Hindu woman ascetic and her associates
for the bombing that took place during Ramadan in Malegaon
in Maharashtra five months ago killing five Muslims.
Malhotra,
a veteran who has been in politics since the 1950s, was asked
to comment on Sadhvi Pragya Thakur's arrest for her suspected
involvement in the Malegaon blasts. A handful of former army
officers have also been taken into custody.
"This
is absolutely wrong. It is a planned move as part of a political
strategy during election days," Malhotra, 76, told IANS
in an interview ahead of the Nov 29 balloting for the 70-member
Delhi assembly.
"The
Maharashtra government, the Intelligence Bureau and the central
government had said that SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of
India) is involved in Malegaon," he said. "Suddenly
they felt it should be given another face. That's why they
have done this."
And
he added with a vehemence: "There is nothing called Hindu
terrorism."
Pragya
Thakur, also known as Sadhvi Purnachetananandgiri, was once
with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student
body affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS),
the BJP's ideological parent.
Was
he surprised when the BJP chose him to be the chief minister
candidate if it unseats the Congress in Delhi?
Malhotra
answered frankly: "I was in confusion. People even advised
me not to take up this chance as I can get a good post in
the central government if the BJP comes to power. But the
party wanted me to accept the challenge; so I accepted it."
The
Lahore-born was elected Chief Executive Councillor of Delhi
in 1967. He has been a member of the Rajya Sabha once and
elected to the Lok Sabha four times, beating Manmohan Singh
of the Congress - now prime minister - from the South Delhi
parliamentary constituency.
Asked
if he would scrap the controversial bus corridor in south
Delhi called Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system, he replied
in the negative though his party has severely criticised it
on many grounds.
"The
bus corridor was made in a very unscientific and unplanned
manner. They (Congress government) have wasted a lot of money.
(But) It will not be totally scrapped. It is important to
improve it.
"For
the Bus Rapid Transit system, the road should be 300 feet
wide. If it fulfils such conditions, I have no problem with
it.
"They
have spent Rs 1.2 billion on the corridor and now they have
hired an agency for Rs.800 million to justify it. This is
foolish."
The
BJP has also accused the Congress government of corruption
while ordering low floor buses for the state-run Delhi Transport
Corp (DTC) and demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of
Investigation.
Malhotra
explained: "Low floor buses were bought for Rs.1.6 million
in Chennai.
The
Delhi government bought them for Rs.4.2 million each, and
now the new ones are being bought for Rs.5.5 million. These
low floor buses are breaking down more often as compared to
the earlier DTC buses."
"We
will bring the best of buses to Delhi from the world over,"
Malhotra told IANS.
The
BJP, which has been out of power in Delhi for 10 long years,
has also accused the Delhi government of corruption in electricity
privatization. He said if he became chief minister, an inquiry
would be conducted and "whoever found responsible, action
will be taken".
"If
it be proved that politicians have taken money, then action
will be taken against them. If the companies are found responsible,
than action will be taken against them.
"The
electricity distribution work can come back to Delhi Vidyut
Board if nobody else is there," he added.
Malhotra
also criticised the government of Sheila Dikshit for providing
provisional certificates to unauthorised colonies to legalise
them.
"The
Supreme Court has also said that these certificates have no
meaning. They even brought (Congress president) Sonia Gandhi
into this."
Malhtora
reiterated the BJP's pledge to work for Delhi's statehood.
"Powers
should be with elected representatives of Delhi and there
is no meaning if the powers stay with (the central government)."
He
outlined his plans for Delhi's governance.
"Different
cities have different systems. In Tokyo there are nearly 70
local bodies and there is state government too. Delhi also
needs at least three local bodies.
"The
corporation of Shahdara should be separate, only then development
of that area will take place. For the rest of Delhi various
committees have recommended formation of two-three local bodies."
Malhotra
favours a policy to keep population growth in check.
"However,
the rules for controlling population need to be uniform for
all communities," he said. "Otherwise the balance
of population between Hindus and different communities will
get disturbed. The balance has already been disturbed."
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