Sadhvi arrested, spoils BJP's Diwali a bit

New Delhi: It's the most damning controversy that could have hit the BJP. Literally on the eve of elections in Madhya Pradesh, a video showing Sadhvi Pragya Thakur - the prime accused in Malegaon blasts - together with MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and BJP President Rajnath Singh shot at a condolence meet of a BJP MLA from MP in February this year - has become cannon fodder for the Congress to target the BJP of promoting Hindu terror.

BJP leader, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi - in an attempt to troubleshoot - said, "The only thing we know about her is that she was with the ABVP till 1996."

Congress MP, Rashid Alvi however had something completely different to say: "This shows that the BJP is a communal party."

There are indications that there could be more trouble for the BJP for following the Sadhavi's interrogation, two others have also been detained.

Sources say Sameer Kulkarni - belonging to an organisation called Abhinav Bharat - was picked for questioning in Bhopal, and Shashikala Shasri a former president of Durga Vahini, the women's wing of the Sangh Parivar, was held in Indore.

Both were detained by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad and have been taken to Mumbai.

Kulkarni and Shastri allegedly procured bomb material and provided logistical support to those behind the Malegaon and Modasa blasts.

The ATS also raided a house in Jabalpur the Sadhavi used to visit regularly. But in some relief for the Sangh Parivar, the MP Police is in no mood to let the sadhavi's arrest tar the image of the saffron combine.

Madhya Pradesh DGP, Santosh Raut said, "There is no evidence to show that the RSS is involved in any of this."

But the lady who is leading the agitation against the BJP, is a former BJP leader herself - Uma Bharti, who won a landslide for the BJP last time around and is now struggling to make a mark for herself. She is accusing her former party of not being sympathetic to the cause of its own workers.

"The party which claims to fight for Hindutva, wants to wash its hands off the episode. It shows who they really are," says Uma Bharti.

For Shivraj Singh Chauhan, considered too young by many, the weeks in the run up to the polls are literally going to be a trial by fire.

Meanwhile, protests were taken out by a youth organisation who burnt effigies of Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil. The Vadodara Youth Group's leader, Kunal Patel, is demanding that the Sadhvi should not be branded as a Hindu terrorist. The group has also issued a warning to two cabinet ministers.

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