Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday defended his statements that accused the Telangana Police of creating a fake Islamic State website to trap and arrest Muslim youth, NDTV reported. He said his remarks were based on information from sources in the Home Ministry and the police, but he did not name them. “I have my own sources in the Home Ministry and police,” Singh told the news channel.
The veteran politician, who had been booked for his controversial statement, had claimed that the Telangana Police had created a “bogus” site through which they were misleading youths from the minority community. The Telangana government, in turn, had asked Singh to prove his allegations or apologise.
State Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy had said Singh would have to publicly apologise to the Telangana police department if he did not prove the accusations. “He has made a false allegation that we created something, induced Muslim children and did something. He must prove it,” Reddy had said, adding that if Singh did not apologise, he would have to face action as per the law.
Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu had also asked Singh to prove his charges or apologise. “Shocked by allegations of Digvijay Singh on Telangana Police encouraging Muslims to join ISIS. He should present evidence or apologise,” Naidu had said on Twitter.
Singh had made these allegations in a series of tweets on May 1. He had asked whether the alleged operation had the approval of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. “If he has, then shouldn’t he own the responsibility and resign?” the Congress leader had said on Twitter. “If he hasn’t, then shouldn’t he enquire and punish those who are responsible for committing such a heinous crime [sic].”
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