"Farooqui's statement is not that of the party's. It could be his personal views," senior SP leader Ramgopal Yadav told reporters here.
"Bhatkal is a terrorist and he should be treated as one," Yadav, who was here to distribute laptops among students, said.
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Responding to the arrest of the 30-year-old accused, who is wanted in several blast cases, Farooqui had yesterday said, "Is this arrest based on crime or religion?"
"If he is a terrorist, then he should not be spared but if he has been arrested just because he is a Muslim, then caution should be exercised as we don't want to send a wrong message to the entire community that we are trying to malign the it's image without a thorough investigation," he had said.