Hindus being dubbed 'terrorists' under Narendra Modi regime, says Shiv Sena

Disgruntled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally, the Shiv Sena on Thursday said that Hindus were being dubbed as 'terrorists' in their own country under Narendra Modi government by merely “adding up” different cases.

The party said that killings of Pansare, Dabholkar, journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh and rationalist MM Kalburgi could be individual conspiracies and the mastermind may not be the same.

Referring to the recent police action against five activists for suspected Maoist links, the Shiv Sena in an editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana' said, "The naxal supporters who had been arrested were termed 'purported' supporters of Naxalism while Hindutvavadis were directly termed as Hindu extremists."

Also Read | Arrests of activists a ‘declaration of emergency’: Rights groups

The Shiv Sena, an ally of the BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra, said that it was surprising that Hindus in India were being termed terrorists, especially in the 'Modi-Fadnavis' regime.

Earlier this month, the CBI had arrested Sachin Andure, one of the alleged shooters in the Dabholkar murder case, and told a Pune court that the killings of Lankesh in Bengaluru last year and Dabholkar in Pune in 2013 were “linked”.

The Maharashtra ATS has also arrested five right-wing activists in connection with the seizure of a large cache of explosives and arms earlier this month.

Also Read | Activists held for alleged Moaist links, CPI-M terms action a ‘brazen attack’ on democratic rights

The CBI recently sought custody of one of these five men, Sharad Kalaskar, to question him in connection with Dabholkar’s killing, but its plea was rejected by a Mumbai court.

(With inputs from PTI)