NEW DELHI/BHOPAL/MUMBAI/LUCKNOW : Following the acquittal of all accused in the Malegaon blast case, the BJP on Thursday accused the Congress of having concocted the theory of “Hindu terror” during its tenure in power, to allegedly thwart the political rise of Narendra Modi, who was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
The BJP claimed the Congress devised this narrative as part of a strategy to appease Muslim voters. “The Congress can go to any extent in its vote bank politics,” stated former Law Minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad at a media briefing. He demanded an apology to the nation from former Congress presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
Prasad demanded that those discharged from the case, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit, be compensated adequately.
Thakur supporters celebrate
In Bhopal, supporters of Pragya Thakur danced and distributed sweets after hearing the verdict. They want a grant celebration after Thakur returns from Mumbai to her B-29, 74 Bungalows residence in a couple of days.
Five kilometres away, supporters burst crackers outside the residence of former CM Uma Bharti at 6, Shyamala Hills. She turned emotional, recounting her meeting with Thakur while the latter was incarcerated.
Bharti recalled, “I met Pragya at the Nashik Jail, when no one went there to meet her. A Maharashtra police officer had told me that she was tortured unimaginably. I was in tears while meeting her and still remember her confirming that she had been tortured beyond imagination.”
She called Thakur “Durga”, who preferred “torture in custody to succumbing under pressure”. Bharti pointed out, “No ordinary woman could have tolerated such extreme torture. At Nashik Jail, she told me, tell all people, that I’ll prefer dying and never allow Hindus and the colour saffron to get kalankit (tarnished).”
Bharti said thanks to the verdict, “even I stand acquitted in the court of my soul”. He stated, “All those who coined the term saffron terrorism should now either apologise to the Hindus or jump into the Ganga or Narmada.”
Maha slugfest
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis posted on X, “Atankwad bhagwa na kabhi kha, na hai, na kabhi rahega (Terrorism was never saffron, is not, and will never be).” Deputy CM Eknath Shinde said the verdict was delayed justice, adding that bomb blasts were frequent when the Congress was in power for which innocents were framed.
He said, “Shiv Sena never had any doubt that the accused were falsely framed and would get justice. Colonel Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya and seven others have had to endure immense mental and physical torture due to this allegation. The Hindu people will never forget this injustice. A Hindu can never commit anti-national acts, because patriotism is a religious act for Hindus.”
On Fadnavis’s reaction, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said,
“His tweet reveals his political mindset. This is precisely why questions have been raised about the attitude of the investigative agencies. These people view terrorism through a political lens as well. People associated with the BJP and RSS, for their political interests, had even called a brave officer like martyr Hemant Karkare a traitor.”
Sawant reacted to Fadvanis, saying, “Was it due to this political mindset that Rohini Salian ji was asked to adopt a soft stance towards the accused and to slow down the pace of the investigation? Witnesses were offered inducements. A witness like Randhir Singh was even given a ministerial position in Jharkhand. However, this verdict is not surprising, as the NIA had already given a clean chit.”
Former CM Prithviraj Chavan of the Congress asked, “The question remains, then why no one is guilty and convicted for this crime? Then, who killed these five people who died in the bomb blast?”
In contrast, Congress ally Shiv Sena of Uddhav Thackeray welcomed the verdict. While Thackeray did not react, his party party MLC and leader of Opposition said, “Satya Mev Jayate – truth has prevailed”. Both factions of the Sena appeared to be on the same side on the verdict.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said, “The NIA court’s verdict has erased the stigma on Hindus today. There is no doubt that the slogan ‘Garv se kaho hum Hindu hai’ will now be echoed a hundred times louder.”
Yogi takes shot at Cong
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the Malegaon verdict was a reflection of the Congress party’s “anti-India, anti-justice and anti-Sanatan character”.
“The exoneration is a living testament to the phrase ‘Satyamev Jayate’. The verdict again exposes the Congress which coined the false term, ‘saffron terror’, and defamed crores of Sanatan believers, saints, and patriots,” he said.
The case Trail
Sept 27, 2008: An explosive device strapped to a motorcycle detonated near a mosque at Bikku chowk in Malegaon town
Sept 29, 2008: An FIR was lodged at Azad Nagar police station at Malegaon
Oct21 , 2008: Maharashtra Terrorist Squad (ATS) took over this case
Nov 27, 2008: ATS chief Hemant Karkare was killed in a terrorist attack in Mumbai
Oct 23, 2008: ATS made the first arrest in this case, namely Sadvi Pragya Singh as well as three other accused
Oct 23, 2008: ATS arrested Lt Col Prasad Purohit for involvement and conspiracy
Jan 20, 2009: ATS filed chargesheet and charged them under MCOCA & UAPA
July 2009: The special court said that the MCOCA was not applicable in the case
Aug 2009: Maha govt moved against the special court in Bombay High Court
July 2010: Bombay High Court overturned the special court order and upheld the charges under MCOCA
Aug 2010: Accused Pragya and Lt Colonel Purohit moved SC against the HC order
Apr 13, 2011: NIA took over case and held Lokesh Sharma & Dhan Singh; total arrested 14
Apr 2015: The SC sent back the case to special court to reconsider the applicability of MCOCA
Feb 2016: NIA told court that they’d sought AG’s view and MCOCA was applicable
May 2016: NIA filed another chargesheet in special court and asked to drop MCOCA against the accused and give a clean chit to all seven
Apr 25, 2017: The Bombay High Court granted bail to Sadvi Pragya Singh but no relief to Lt Colonel Purohit
Sept 21, 2017: Lt Colonel Purohit finally got the bail via the Supreme Court. Later all accused arrested in this case were granted bail
Dec 27, 2017: The special court of NIA dropped the charge that the accused was a member of the terrorist organisation and raising funds for it
Dec 3, 2018: The trail began with examinations of first witnesses
Sept 14, 2023: Court examined 323 prosecution witnesses; 37 turned hostile
July 23, 2023: The examination of defence witnesses were completed
Aug 12, 2023: The special court recorded the final statement of accused
Apr 19, 2025: The special court closed the trail for the judgment
July 31, 2025: Special court judge LK Lahoti acquitted all seven accused