Saffron Terror - Criticism

Criticism

The term has been called as a "myth" by the journalist Balbir Punj who claims that the term is an invention of the Indian National Congress party to demonise their political opposition as "terrorists". Similar views have been expressed by other journalists in India Bahukutumbi Raman, former head of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), criticised the term as a tool for political posturing toward the Muslim minority.< Kanchan Gupta and Swapan Dasgupta, have accused investigators of leaking statements about saffron terror to the media to promote the agenda of the Congress. Raman accused the media of measuring Muslim and Hindu suspects by different yardsticks.

The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) president, Rajnath Singh, denounced claims of Hindu terrorists as "vilification of Hindu saints and army officers in the name of Hindu terrorism". In 2010, the internet whistleblower organization WikiLeaks released documents attesting to some leaders of the Indian National Congress alleging involvement of Hindu right-wing groups in the death of ATS chief Hemant Karkare during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The cable concluded that such allegations were being used for electoral gains. The term "Saffron Terror" was prominently used by some Congress party members in this campaign, most prominently by Digvijay Singh. The BJP criticised these statements and filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India citing it as a violation of the Model Code of Conduct for guidance of political parties. The Election Commission issued a show-cause notice to Digvijay Singh on this complaint. Hindu spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has also criticized the usage of the term, saying that it is a myth and insult to Hindu religion, which he said is the most tolerant religion.

The main opposition party BJP accused the government of targeting Hindus.