Delhi blast not isolated incident; religious radicalisation should be curbed: BJP

Bengaluru, Nov 12 (IANS) Reacting to the Delhi blast that claimed eight lives, BJP MLC C. T. Ravi on Wednesday said that India saw several "mass killings" due to "religious radicalisation", and it should be curbed.

Speaking to the media, he said the Delhi blast should not be seen as an isolated incident.

Ravi, former BJP National General Secretary, said even during British rule, there was the Mapilla Rebellion in Malabar, Kerala, during which Hindus were the victims of mass killings.

He added that during the 'Direct Action' movement in West Bengal, a large-scale massacre took place. After independence, too, during the Razakar movement, there were similar massacres.

The BJP leader noted that even the family of the AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge suffered in such violence - he lost his mother and brother.

He reminded that after Independence, thousands of bomb blasts have occurred across the country.

Among those involved, 90 per cent were terrorists motivated by Islamic ideology, and 10 per cent were influenced by Maoist or Karl Marx's ideologies, he said.

"The goal of all these groups, he explained, is violence, killing, and creating fear - all part of a conspiracy to subdue India through terror," he claimed.

"It was once said that the poor and uneducated easily fall into the terrorist network. But Osama bin Laden had wealth worth thousands of crores, ate not with a silver spoon but with a diamond-studded golden spoon, and lived a life of extreme luxury - yet became a terrorist," said C.T. Ravi.

He pointed out that even the suspected terrorists recently arrested are not illiterate - many are doctors, some are engineers, and several come from wealthy families.

Stating that no other country in the world offers as much religious freedom as India does, he stressed the need to identify the cause.

Even the Ganesh processions have to be taken out amid fear and tension, but Eid-e-Milad processions have never faced such fear, he noted.

"Then why do they still feel the need to plant bombs?" he asked.

Killing innocents is against Islam, he said, quoting a cleric. "People commit acts of terror in the name of spreading Islam. I want to ask which Islam do they truly represent?" he asked.

--IANS

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