Congress has asked the government to "come clean" on the Pakistani boat issue and explain "which terrorist organisation" was behind the episode that unfolded on the high seas. However, BJP hit back at Congress and accused the opposition party of advocating the cause of terrorists.
"Government should come clean on it. There is no evidence. How can you say that a terrorist attack was prevented?
"How did they (government) come to the conclusion that it was a terrorist boat? It is very strange. Nothing has been explained. Which terrorist organisation was behind it?" party spokesperson Ajoy Kumar said citing media reports which have questioned the government version about the interception and the subsequent blast on board and sinking of the fishing boat.
Hitting back at Congress, BJP accused the opposition party of advocating the cause of terrorists and being soft on terror due to its "vote-bank politics".
"There is nothing new in the Congress speaking the language of terrorists. Congress has a history of advocating the cause of terrorists, be it those creating terror within the country or emanating from Pakistan. Congress is soft on terror due to its vote-bank politics," BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said.
He said soon after coming to power in 2004 one of the first actions of the Congress government was to abolish the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) and later tried to divert the attention of people of the country from terror on incidents like the Bhatla House encounter, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, the Bodhgaya and Patna bomb blasts.
"Congress tried to divert the attention from terror by making wild allegations against BJP without any evidence that also led to lowering the morale of the armed forces," he said.
In a midnight operation off the coast of Gujarat, a Pakistani fishing boat said to be carrying explosives was intercepted by the Indian Coast Guard before it exploded and caught fire and sunk with four crew members on board.
The incident, which occurred on the intervening night of December 31, 2014, and Jan. 1 some 365-km off the Porbander coast, is being regarded in some quarters as being reminiscent of the 2008 Mumbai terror strike.
However, there has been no official confirmation of that conjecture with the Defence Ministry merely stating that the boat from Keti Bunder near Karachi "was planning some illicit transaction" in the Arabian Sea.
Meanwhile, a search is underway for the wreckage of the mysterious boat -- which exploded after being hunted down by the Indian Coast Guard in the Arabian Sea -- as also the bodies of its four occupants, which will be crucial for investigators to reach a conclusion about their intent.
Speaking last night, BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma complimented the security forces for the action and said that the episode constituted "yet another attempt by a frustrated Pakistan in aiding terror activities in India".
(With agency inputs)
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