New Delhi, Nov 10 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Congress government in Karnataka after a video surfaced showing an alleged IS recruiter, Jihad Hameed Shakeel Manna, using a mobile phone and watching television inside Bengaluru Central Jail.

The video, which has gone viral on social media, features Manna — accused of recruiting youth for the Islamic State — enjoying facilities prohibited for prisoners booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that the Congress government had compromised national security by allowing a terror accused such privileges.

“Instead of ensuring strict monitoring, the Congress government has handed over a mobile phone to an IS recruiter,” Poonawalla said during a press conference at the BJP headquarters on Monday.

“This shows how the Congress has a soft corner for Islamic jihadi terrorism. Under the NDA, terrorists are struck down; under Congress, they get mobile phones and celebrations.”

Drawing a sharp contrast between the PM Modi government and the previous UPA regime, Poonawalla cited the case of Jammu and Kashmir separatist Yasin Malik.

“Yasin Malik, who is now a convicted terrorist under the NDA government, was treated like a VVIP and even photographed with the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the Congress rule,” he said.

He further stated that while the BJP government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, has maintained a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism — busting major Islamic terror plots from Jammu and Kashmir to Faridabad — the Congress-ruled Karnataka government was “offering luxury treatment to a jihadi terrorist.”

“This incident clearly shows the difference between the two ideologies,” Poonawalla remarked.

“While the NDA is committed to protecting citizens and choking terrorism before it can strike, the Congress continues to indulge those who threaten India’s security,” he said.

–IANS

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