Ujjwal Nikam: ‘LoP Wadettiwar’s allegation against me over 26/11 is absolutely false. But I don’t want to enter into a political war’

The BJP’s candidate from the Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha constituency and lawyer, Ujjwal Nikam, 71, has come in the line of the Opposition Congress’s fire as the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Maharashtra Assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar, while referring to a book by former Inspector General of Maharashtra Police S M Mushrif, alleged that 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab did not kill the IPS officer and then state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief, Hemant Karkare, but an RSS-affiliated cop did, and that Nikam as a public prosecutor “suppressed” it. In an interview with The Indian Express, Nikam speaks on the row as well as his election campaign and future plans. Excerpts:

The Deputy CM responded like that as the Opposition has now started false propaganda to condemn or tarnish my image without any rational foundation and they are thinking that I maligned the image of Congress. It (LoP Wadettiwar’s allegation) is absolutely false. But I do not want to enter into a political war.

I thought of joining BJP as it had invited me and it suits my ideology. I have no hesitation to say that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has enhanced the image of the country in the eyes of the world. Within the span of ten years, the whole world recognised India as a strong country. During the last 10 years, no bomb explosion, no criminal conspiracy to do terrorist acts in our country has happened. This has happened because the Modi government has decided to retaliate against such cowardly attacks very firmly.

We have now very few days left for elections and are running out of time. And I am going to reach every person or every locality as such and understand their issues.

Rival candidates are not personal enemies. The candidates contest on their ideology.