Modi to Rahul: Reveal names of youth in touch with ISI or apologise

Narendra Modi on Friday attacked Rahul Gandhi for saying that ISI was in touch with Muslim youth of Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar and asked him to reveal the identity of such persons or apologise publicly for levelling “serious allegations” and “defaming” the entire community.

Citing Mr. Gandhi’s remarks that he had been told about it by intelligence personnel, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate questioned why intelligence agencies “report” to Mr. Gandhi, “who has never taken oath of secrecy”, and brief him on such sensitive matters.

Addressing a rally in Jhansi, he also said that if the government has information about ISI, Pakistan’s intelligence agency, being in touch with some youth in Uttar Pradesh, it should act, rather than “just give the news like a news agency”.

Addressing Mr. Rahul Gandhi as a ‘shahzada’ (prince), Mr. Modi referred to his comments on Thursday and said he levelled “serious allegations against the youth in relief camps (of Muzaffarnagar) that they are hobnobbing with ISI. It is your responsibility to make public the names of such youth… If you do not disclose the names, then you should apologise publicly for defaming an entire community.”

The relief camps were set up for the victims of riots in Muzaffarnagar that took place last month.

On Mr. Gandhi’s contention about ISI hobnobbing, he said told the Congress vice-president that his party was in power and asked “how is ISI freely spreading its influence in the lanes of U.P. under your very nose? What are you doing about it?”

Targeting the Congress and its government over it, Mr. Modi said, “you are behaving as a news agency, just giving news about what ISI is doing. You have to act against them.”