Maharashtra ATS arrests: Chidambaram asks if RSS, BJP will condemn radical Hindu outfits

A day after the Maharashtra ATS arrested three men affiliated to radical Hindu outfits for plotting terror attacks, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday, August 11 asked if the RSS and BJP would condemn those outfits.

"Maharashtra ATS announced the arrest of three men affiliated to radical Hindu outfits. Who rules Maharashtra? The BJP. Hindu, Muslim or any other religion, radicalism is radicalism. Terror is terror. There is no purpose in burying one's head in the sand," said Chidambaram on Twitter.

"Will the RSS and BJP condemn those who are plotting and planning terror attacks?" he asked.

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Friday claimed to have foiled a terrorist attempt to strike in different parts of the state following the arrest of three persons and seizure of at least 20 crude bombs and explosives and material used in bomb-making.

Official sources said the first to be arrested early Friday was Hindu Janjagran Samiti (HJS) activist Vaibhav Raut from his home in Nala Sopara, Palghar district, just north of Mumbai.

Later, his accomplice Sharad Kalaskar was arrested from there by the ATS teams, which were accompanied by a dog squad and forensics experts.

A third right-wing activist Sudhnava Gondhalekar—allegedly linked to Shri Shiv Pratisthan—was arrested from Pune.

The sources said that the accused planned to carry out terror hits in Mumbai, Pune, Solapur and Satara districts in the coming few days.

Inputs by NH Web Desk