Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar targets BJP, says, releasing Jaish- e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar in 1999 was a "sin" the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led BJP government committed. Mr. Babbar went on to say that it is this "sin" that led to the terror attacks in the Parliament as well as in Pulwama.

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While referring to the plane hijack in 1999, the Congress leader, while addressing a rally here on Friday, said, "You (the then BJP government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee) had released Masood Azhar and taken him to Kandahar." "You (Modi) arrogant ruler, the arrogant monarch, what kind of a reward did you get which has disturbed the Congress? It is your sin that you had released him (Masood Azhar). The attack in the Pulwama and Parliament was a result of your sin," he claimed.

He further said that the credit for Masood Azhar being designated as a "global terrorist" by the United Nations belongs to the previous UPA government because it is the result of a process initiated by former PM Manmohan Singh in 2008-09. Mr. Babbar also said that Azhar's listing was a result of JeM's activities in Afghanistan, and not as retaliation to the Pulwama and Pathankot terror attacks.

"The credit for getting Masood Azhar designated as a global terrorist should go to our foreign policy which Manmohan Singh and our other senior leaders executed. They (the current NDA government) are trying to take credit for the process started by the UPA government," he said.

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