Sangh baiter to advise Sibal

New Delhi, July 6: An author whose book suggested the Mumbai attacks were a conspiracy of the RSS has been appointed adviser to HRD minister Kapil Sibal on minority education.

Aziz Burney got RSS Ka Shadyantra, 26/11? (RSS conspiracy, 26/11?) released by Digvijay Singh in December last year.

At the launch, the Congress leader had claimed that Hemant Karkare, the ATS chief slain in 26/11, had called him a few hours before being killed and told him he had received threats for probing Hindu extremists and their terror links.

RSS cadres had filed a case against the author in a Mumbai court. Burney, also the editor of an Urdu newspaper, had tendered an apology in January but the RSS rejected it. Burney’s claim came despite investigating agencies blaming the strikes on the Lashkar-e-Toiba.

“Burney has been appointed adviser to the HRD minister last month. He has been appointed in view of his contributions to education of minorities. His tenure will be for a year,” a ministry official said.

Asked about his “contributions”, Burney conceded he did not have any.

“I do not have any contribution to minority education so far. But I will attend meetings and give my suggestions on the issue.”

He clarified, however, that it was “an honorary post” and pointed out that he had also been named adviser when Sibal was Union science and technology minister in 2004-05 during the tenure of the first UPA government.

Burney’s appointment comes at a time the HRD ministry has initiated a number of measures to increase education among minorities.

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