Present evidence or apologise: Naidu on Digvijaya’s IS claim

New Delhi: Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu today asked Congress leader Digvijaya Singh to provide evidence over his allegation that the Telangana Police was encouraging Muslim youths to join the terror outfit of Islamic State.

He said the Telangana Police “pro-actively share” information on anti-terror operations with other states and such “baseless charges demoralise” the forces.

“Shocked by allegations of Sh Digvijay Singh on #Telangana police encouraging Muslims to join ISIS. He should present evidence or apologise,” Naidu said in a tweet.

The Information and Broadcasting Minister was responding to Singh’s accusation that Telangana Police was radicalising Muslim youths and encouraging them to join the Islamic State (IS) by setting up a “bogus” website of the terror group.

Singh earlier claimed that the state police had set up the website to trap Muslims youths and that it was “radicalising and encouraging them to become ISIS modules”.

The senior Congress leader had also asked Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao whether he had authorised the state police “to trap Muslim youths and encourage them to join the IS”.

“If he has then shouldn’t he own the responsibility and resign? If he hasn’t then shouldn’t he enquire and punish those who are responsible for committing such a heinous crime (sic),” Singh said in a tweet.

—PTI