'Hindu terror' Congress conspiracy; Sonia Gandhi, Rahul should apologise: BJP

New Delhi: The BJP said on Thursday that the Congress manufactured the theory of "Hindu terror" when in power to stop the rise of Narendra Modi, the then Gujarat chief minister, to appease its Muslim voters, as it welcome the acquittal of seven accused in the Malegaon blast case.

BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad demanded that the discharged accused, former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, should be compensated, and the prosecution apologise for allegedly using torture and planting evidence to frame them.

"The Congress can go to any extent to appease its vote bank. This case was a well-calculated conspiracy of the party for sheer vote bank politics," he said, calling it a historic day.

Prasad said the Congress attempt to force the possibility of Hindu terror organisation saffron terrorism has fallen flat.

With Rahul Gandhi earlier dismissing questions related to the court verdict as an attempt to detract from real issues as he hit out at the government over US President Donald Trump's critical comments on Indian economy, Prasad hit back.

He claimed that Gandhi in 2010 had told the US ambassador, according to Wikileaks, that extremist Hindu groups can be more dangerous than the terror outfit LeT.

The Congress leader's claim has fallen flat, and it is he who is running away from truth, he said.

Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi, both former Congress presidents, should apologise to the country, Prasad said.

Nearly 17 years after the Malegaon blast claimed six lives, a special court in Mumbai acquitted all seven accused, including former Thakur and Purohit, noting there was "no reliable and cogent evidence" against them.

Prasad praised Purohit as a brave and decorated officer who fought terrorism in Kashmir and Thakur as a 'sant', and said both of whom suffered for 17 years due to false charges.

They should be compensated, he said.

The BJP leader cited several cases in which, he said, the then Congress-led UPA government allegedly tried to cover the roles of suspected Muslim accused and terror organisations.

He referred to the cases of Ishrat Jahan, a suspected LeT operative killed in an encounter by the Gujarat police in 2004, Makkah masjid blast case of 2007 and Samjhauta Express blast of 2007.

"The Congress can go to any extent in its vote bank politics," he said.