After 16 years, justice has prevailed in the 2008 Malegaon blast case as a special NIA court acquitted all seven accused, including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit. The verdict has not only ended the long legal battle of innocent individuals, but it has also exposed what many are calling one of the darkest political conspiracies in modern Indian history. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and several nationalist voices have demanded strong accountability from the Congress party, accusing it of deliberately framing Hindus to suit its political agenda.
VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal launched a scathing attack, stating that Congress must be held accountable for three grave crimes first, the loss of innocent lives in the Malegaon blasts; second, the wrongful framing of Hindu saints, military personnel, and social workers; and third, shielding the real terrorists behind the carnage. “For these crimes,” Bansal said, “Congress deserves the strictest punishment.”
Weaponizing the State: Agencies Misused to Frame Innocents
The VHP further charged the Congress with misusing state investigative agencies to weave a fake narrative of ‘saffron terror.’ According to Bansal, “This verdict has made four things absolutely clear: Congress created and propagated the fake theory of Hindu terrorism, they misused agencies like ATS and NIA, they protected actual Islamist terrorists to defame Hindus, and finally, they pushed an anti-Hindu political agenda to win the 2009 elections.”
The allegations are not mere rhetoric. Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit, who was one of the key accused in the case, revealed in his final statement to the NIA court that he was tortured, both mentally and physically, by the ATS while being held in illegal detention in Khandala. He described the treatment as worse than that of a prisoner of war. Most shockingly, Purohit claimed that he was pressured to falsely implicate top RSS and VHP leaders, including the now Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath. He alleged that RDX was planted, witnesses were threatened and coerced, and fake statements were crafted by the ATS—all to suit a political objective.
Hindu Religious Identity Deliberately Targeted
Sunil Ambekar, the Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh of the RSS, also reacted to the verdict with strong words: “Today’s court decision has revealed the truth. Some people misused power for personal and political gains and made a malicious attempt to link the Hindu religion and the entire Hindu society with terrorism. On the basis of a long judicial process and facts, the court has defeated those baseless allegations.”
This deliberate branding of Hindu organizations as terror groups was never based on facts, but was a ploy to create a false equivalence and balance the narrative of Islamic terrorism with so-called ‘Hindu terrorism.’ With this acquittal, not only have the falsely accused been vindicated, but the Hindu society too has found some form of justice after years of defamation.
Time for Congress to Apologize to the Nation
Vinod Bansal has demanded that Congress issue a public apology to the Hindu community and to the nation. “Congress must admit that it framed innocent Hindus, misused institutions, and tried to tarnish the image of Hindu Dharma globally. A resolution should be passed in Parliament declaring Congress as a party that supported terrorists and acted against national interest.”
The VHP and RSS have called for a wider public inquiry into the conduct of the previous UPA regime, particularly the actions of the then Home Ministry and its pressure on investigative agencies to pursue a predetermined narrative. Bansal also accused the Congress of playing communal politics in other matters, such as its objection to the Ram Janmabhoomi verdict where Sonia Gandhi had stated the party would appeal to the Supreme Court despite not being a party in the dispute.
Congress’s Dangerous Legacy of Political Vendetta
The Malegaon blast verdict is not just about legal justice; it is a political and moral reckoning. The acquittal of all accused highlights how institutions were misused under Congress rule to fulfill a dangerous political narrative. Innocent lives were ruined, national security was compromised, and the faith of an entire community was shaken—all for electoral gains. This is not just a failure of governance but a betrayal of the nation.
Now, with the truth out in the open, there is a renewed call for accountability, reform, and introspection. The Congress owes an apology to the nation and especially to the Hindu community it maligned. Most importantly, India must ensure that no political party is ever allowed to weaponize the justice system to further its divisive goals.