 "Modi")
Police in Pune say they have intercepted an internal communication of Maoists that reveals the plan of a 'Rajiv Gandhi-type' assassination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Police told a court on Thursday that they seized a letter from the residence of one of the five people arrested for the violence in Maharashtra’s Bhima-Koregaon, where one person was killed and mobs attacked vehicles, shops and houses in January.
The trouble erupted after a large number of Dalits gathered to commemorate the 200th anniversary of a battle they won fighting alongside the British against the Peshwas (upper caste rulers).
“Modi-led Hindu fascism is bulldozing its way into the lives of indigenous Adivasis (tribals). In spite of big defeats like Bihar and West Bengal, Modi has successfully established BJP government in more than 15 states. If this pace continues, then it would mean immense trouble for the party on all fronts. Greater suppression of dissent and more brutal form of Misson 2016 (OGH),” the letter read.
It reportedly said “senior comrades have proposed concrete steps to end Modi-raj” and that they were “thinking along the lines of another Rajiv Gandhi type incident”.
Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was killed in 1991 in a Tamil Nadu town in a suicide attack by a guerrilla group ahead of a rally.
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“It sounds suicidal and there is a good chance that we might fail, but we feel that the party PB/CC must deliberate over our proposal. Targeting his road-shows could be an effective strategy. We collectively believe that survival of the party is supreme to all sacrifices.”
The letter also said for Maoists “defeating Hindu fascism has been our core agenda and a major concern for the party”.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the court should decide the matter.
"There are security forces in the country. Also, courts are there. They will look into this. The security forces have been taking care of the politicians in India. I don't know (if it's real or not). Let court decide that," he said.
Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam said the strategy might be "planted".
"I am not saying this is completely untrue, but it has been Prime Minister Modi's old tactic, since he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Whenever his popularity declines, news of an assassination plot is planted. So, it should be probed how much truth is in it this time," he told ANI.
