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Mumbai (Maharashtra): In a hard-hitting counter to Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar's claim that former Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare was killed by a police officer with RSS links and not by Lashkar terrorist Ajmal Kasab, the BJP's Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai on Wednesday said people were 'smart' enough to see the 'political duplicity' of the party he represents.
Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, the BJP's Tamil Nadu chief said the 'desperation' of the Opposition leaders making such claims was for all to see.
On the Congress leader's claims that top lawyer and 26/11 prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam was in cahoots with the BJP and making false claims, Annamalai, who is seeking a maiden term in the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore, said, "You will have noted that such allegations against Ujjwal Nikam have been flying thick and fast since he was declared as our candidate (for the Lok Sabha elections) and started campaigning. We have to understand that not just Ujjwal Nikam, who was the special public prosecutor (in the 26/11 case) but the entire team of prosecutors did a very good job (in bringing the perpetrators of the attacks to justice). One has to respect our judicial process. The prosecution also uncovered and established beyond any reasonable doubt the larger conspiracy (behind the 26/11 attacks) that came out during the investigation. They brought us clarity on what happened and who were behind it. For the Opposition to now bring such groundless allegations (against Nikam) shows their desperation. Ujjwal Nikam is a very decorated public servant and worked to not just bring closure to the kin of the 26/11 victims but also to make sure the city was safer post the attacks. So why open up old wounds with such baseless claims when he has already been declared as our candidate (from Mumbai North Central)? The people of Mumbai are smart enough to see through this political duplicity of the Congress."
Wadettiwar, the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra assembly, stoked a major controversy claiming that the former Mumbai ATS chief was "not killed by terrorists during the 26/11 attack but by a police official close to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh."
Earlier, Nikam hit back at Wadettiwar over his remarks in connection with the 26/11 attacks, calling them 'baseless' and alleging that the latter was indulging in a 'Goebbels-like propaganda', comparing him with Hitler's aide and the chief propagandist of the Nazis.
In the face of brickbats, the Congress leader issued a clarification saying that those were not his words but were mentioned in the book authored by SM Mushrif, a former inspector general of Police in Maharashtra.
"Those were not my words, I just said what was written in the book by SM Mushrif. The book has all the information on the bullet that killed Hemant Karkare. It wasn't a bullet fired by terrorists," the Congress leader said.
The ruling Shiv Sena also condemned Wadettiwar's remarks saying the Congress leader made a 'disrespectful' comment about a valiant and decorated police officer, who laid down his life in the line of duty during the 26/11 attacks.
Karkare was killed in action in the wake of the horrific terror attacks of 2008. He was posthumously honoured with the Ashoka Chakra the following year, in 2009.
