Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 31 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday demanded an apology from the Congress for using terms like "Hindu terrorism" after the NIA Court acquitted all seven accused in the Malegaon Blast Case.
Speaking to the media, Fadnavis claimed that the narrative set by the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government of "saffron terrorism" has been exposed today.
"The way the Congress-led UPA government conspired to set the narrative of saffron terrorism, Hindu terrorism and prepared the entire Malegaon case, today it has been exposed... Congress tried to bring the narrative to please its vote bank, especially the vote bank of a particular religion. The work done by Congress to label all Hindus as terrorists, today, the whole country is condemning it," he said.
"We demand that Congress apologise for calling out terms like Hindu terrorism and saffron terrorism," the Maharashtra CM said.
Mumbai Special National Investigative Agency Court (NIA) on Thursday acquitted all seven accused of being involved in the 2008 blasts in Malegaon, with the court saying the prosecution failed to establish the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
A total of seven people were accused, including former MP Sadhvi Pragya, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhankar Dhar Dwivedi (Shankaracharya) and Sameer Kulkarni.
The court had examined 323 prosecution witnesses and eight defence witnesses before pronouncing the verdict. The accused have been acquitted of all charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and all other charges.
"Prosecution proved that a blast occurred in Malegaon but failed to prove that a bomb was placed in that motorcycle," Judge Abhay Lohati said.
On September 29, 2008, six people were killed and 95 others injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle detonated near a mosque in Malegaon City's Bhijju Chowk. Originally, 11 people were charged in the case; however, the court ultimately framed charges against seven.
The lawyer representing the victims' families said that he will be challenging the acquittal of the seven people in the High Court.