Digvijaya Accuses Telangana Police of Encouraging Muslims to Join ISIS

Lashing out at Congress leader Digvijaya Singh for accusing the Telangana Police of setting up a ‘bogus’ ISIS site, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on Monday said that the former has lost his mind and should apologise for making such a statement against the Police.

What he is talking is absolutely wrong. He needs to apologise not only to the Telangana Chief Minister, but also to the country for making this kind of a statement,’ TRS leader A.P. Jithender Reddy. Reddy further said that Digvijaya demoralised the whole police system in the country, especially the Telangana Police which are doing a very good job.

‘Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi should take action in this matter and if he does not, it will be considered that the Congress is behind this statement,’ he said.

Minister of Information Technology under Telangana government K.T. Rama Rao requested senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh to withdraw his comments accusing Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao of authorizing Telangana Police to trap Muslim Youths and encourage them to join ISIS. ‘Most irresponsible and reprehensible thing coming from a former Chief Minister. Request you to withdraw these comments unconditionally or provide evidence,’ KTR tweeted. K.T. Rama Rao is also the son of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao.

“Highly irresponsible and reprehensible and coming from senior man like him is a shameful statement that he has made. When it comes to police and armed forces, I think we have to exercise utmost restraint, coming from a former chief minister and coming from a senior congress leader I feel utterly dejected because of his wordings and because of the way he tried to hurt the morale of Telangana police. Telangana police is being doing an exemplary service and I demand Mr. Digvijaya Singh tendering an unconditional apology and withdraw his statements,” KTR told ANI.

He also demanded Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to intervene into the matter. “I also demands Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi to intervene in this matter and restrain Mr. Singh or else we would also think that there is an indirect support from Mr. Gandhi as well and the Congress party itself. We demand an unconditional apology for lowering the esteem of Telangana police forces and this is not for the first time that Digvijaya Singh has done this. He has commented on Delhi Police and Indian Armed Forces in the past and now he has resorted to same tactic with respect to Telangana police. I demand that he take back his words and tender an unconditional apology to the Telangana police,” he added.

DGP of Telangana Police also took to Twitter asserting that such unfounded allegations by a senior responsible leader will lower the morale and image of Police engaged in fighting anti-national forces.

‘Unfounded allegations from a senior responsible leader will lower the morale and image of Police engaged in fighting anti-national forces,’ DGP of Telangana police tweeted.’

AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh kicked up a row with comments that the Telangana police has set up a “bogus” ISIS website to radicalise Muslim youth and encourage them to join the terrorist outfit.

Telangana’s ruling TRS reacted sharply to the “most irresponsible and reprehensible” remarks of the senior Congress leader and demanded that he withdraw those.

“Telangana Police has set up a bogus ISIS site which is radicalising Muslim youth and encouraging them to become ISIS modules,” Singh said in a post on his Twitter page.

“The issue is whether Telangana Police should be trapping Muslim Youths in becoming ISIS modules by posting inflammatory information’

“Is It Ethical’ Is it Moral’ Has KCR authorised Telangana Police to trap Muslim Youths and encourage them to join ISIS’ If he has then shouldn’t he own the responsibility and resign’ If he hasn’t then shouldn’t he enquire and punish those who are responsible for committing such a heinous crime’” Singh said in a series of tweets.

The Congress leader’s comment drew sharp reaction from TRS, with Telangana Industries and IT Minister K T Rama Rao demanding that Singh withdraw his remarks or provide evidence to back his claim.

Later, talking to reporters on the issue in New Delhi he wanted to know if the Congress high command endorsed Singh’s remarks.

The Congress leader, who continues to be the party’s general secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana after being divested of the charge of Karnataka and Goa on Saturday, said on Twitter that it was after Telangana police’s information “that MP police arrested those who were responsible for a bomb blast in a train in Shajapur district”.

“It also resulted in Saifullaha encounter in Kanpur the same day,” he said.

Telangana DGP Anurag Sharma said the Congress leader s comments would demoralise the police force and lower the image of personnel engaged in fighting anti-national forces.

“Unfounded allegations from a senior, responsible leader will lower the morale and image of police engaged in fighting anti-national forces,” Sharma said.