leader Sabir Ali on Sunday stepped up attack on Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, daring the BJP leader to prove allegations that he had links with Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal or apologise. “I am ready to go to his (Mr. Naqvi’s) place or he can come to mine and have a discussion and give proof. If he is right, I am ready to be hanged…,” he said, and claimed that Mr. Naqvi may have considered Mr. Ali a “threat” to his position in the party.
Mr. Ali was addressing a press conference a day after BJP annulled his membership within 24 hours of his induction following intense opposition from within and the RSS. Mr. Naqvi had attacked Mr. Ali as “a friend of terrorist Yasin Bhatkal” and strongly opposed his entry into the party, terming it a “mistake” that needed to be rectified. Mr. Ali said that the allegations levelled against him were completely “baseless.” He and his family have been affected by it and Mr. Naqvi must apologise or prove his allegations, the leader said.
Mr. Ali’s wife, who was also present during the press conference, threatened to sit on a dharna in front of Mr. Naqvi’s house if the BJP leader did not apologise. “I want an apology letter from him within 24 hours stating the reasons behind his statement. Or else give us proof about his allegations,” Mr. Ali’s wife said.
“After 24 hours, if he fails to do so…I will sit alone on a dharna in front of his house. If I have to become a martyr (shahid) for truth, I will become one there (Mr. Naqvi’s house) only,” she said.
Mr. Ali, who had yesterday threatened to file defamation case against Mr. Naqvi, on Sunday said, “It has been 56 hours since I challenged Mr. Naqvi to have a debate or give proof of his allegations. There has been no reply. We have prepared the notice and it will be served to him through my lawyer. I have challenged him and say this today as well. I know that foundation of lies is always weak…I have been a Rajya Sabha member for six years, I was in JD(U). During that time nobody said anything. But the day I joined BJP, he (Mr. Naqvi) perhaps thought that people like me who are connected to ground reality would become a threat to him,” Mr. Ali said.
—PTi