There is no such thing as Islamic terrorism: Rajnath

Lucknow, Nov 18 (IANS) Urging people not to associate terrorism with any religion, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh Tuesday criticised the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Mumbai Police for 'defaming saints and military personnel'.

'There is nothing like Islamic or Hindu terrorism,' he told a press conference here, adding: 'I have never used the word Islamic terrorism.'

His comments came against the backdrop of the arrest of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Swami Amritanand who is also known as Dayanand Pandey, seving army officer Prasad Purohit and others for the blast in Malegaon town of Maharashtra on Sep 29, in which six people were killed.

'I am firmly of the view that authorities must not go to the media until they have gathered sufficient evidence to nail a terror suspect. After all, it sullies the reputation of a person for no rhyme or reason when the charges against such persons are not proved,' asserted Singh.

'That does not mean that we are opposed to any investigation but what I wish to emphasise is that we must refrain from unnecessarily defaming saints and military personnel as is being done in the case of the Malegon blasts.'