Digvijaya Singh refuses to withdraw remark against madrassas, RSS schools

Hyderabad: Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh today refused to withdraw his statement that schools run by madrassas and the RSS spread hatred.

The Hyderabad Police had last month registered a case against Singh over his social media post criticising the Muslim madrassas (seminaries) and the RSS-run Saraswati Sishu Mandirs.

These schools “spread hatred”, the Congress leader had said. “Whenever Digvijay Singh attacks the Hindu fundamentalism, the Muslim clergy loves it, but whenever I say something about the religious fanatics in the minority community, they have an issue,” he told reporters here.

“If Telangana police comes to question me… I am not withdrawing my remarks. I stand by my remarks. The remarks are in the best interests of everyone. I have right to say that religious fundamentalism is a curse for the secular fabric of this country,” he said.

He said during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh he had recommended ban on Students Islamic Movement of India, and the Bajarang Dal.

“But only SIMI was banned by the then central government,” he claimed.
Congress wanted modernisation of madrassas, he said.

Singh was booked on a complaint by Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) leader Amjed Ullah Khan under IPC section 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings).
PTI