BJP cites Pak journalist's claims to attack ex-VP Ansari, Congress

The BJP on Wednesday asked former vice president Hamid Ansari and the Congress to come clean on the claims of a Pakistani journalist that he had visited India five times during the UPA rule and passed on sensitive information collected here to his country's spy agency ISI.

BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia cited Pakistani journalist Nusrat Mirza's purported comments that he had visited India on Ansari's invitations and also met him.

If Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi besides the then vice president remain silent on the questions raised by the ruling party, it will amount to their admission to these ''sins'', Bhatia told reporters.

No comment was available from either the Congress or Ansari.

Clips of Mirza's interviews doing the rounds on social media suggest that he attended a seminar on terrorism in India in which Ansari spoke.

At a press conference, Bhatia said, ''People of India are giving you so much respect and you are betraying the country. Isn't this treason? Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Hamid Ansari should come out and reply to this.'' Mirza said claimed in an interview in Pakistan that Ansari had invited him five times to India during 2005-11 and shared extremely sensitive and classified information, the BJP leader claimed.

''He took the information from Ansari and it was used against India,'' Bhatia alleged, adding that Mirza was also invited to a seminar on the issue of terrorism.

''A person who is sharing information with the ISI is invited to come to India. Was this the Congress' policy to end terrorism? ''This is the party's poisonous mindset. Our government has resolved to root out terrorism. On the other hand, this is the Congress mindset,'' he said.

Other BJP leaders also attacked Ansari.

BJP vice president Baijayant Jay Panda tweeted, ''It is astonishing to read about the claims of a Pakistani journalist involving our former Vice President Hamid Ansari. What is even more shocking is that he got a 2nd term during the UPA govt! Were the top posts compromised during that period? It raises some serious doubts.'' Citing Mirza's claims, Bhatia said he was given the visa to visit seven Indian cities against the practice of three cities.

He also referred to the comments of a former operative of RAW, India's external spy agency, to allege that Ansari had harmed the country's interests when he was its envoy to Iran.

Asked if the BJP was seeking legal action in the matter, he said the party's job is to raise issues and it is for the investigation agencies to probe.

He said Ansari should clarify if he was aware that Mirza was to pass the information to the ISI, and whether the former vice president was acting at the prodding of the Congress leadership.

The Congress can go to any extent and compromise with national security in its petty and ugly politics, he alleged.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)