Indian leaders are condemning a right-wing politician's call for Hindu suicide bombers to counter growing Islamic terrorism in India.
In an editorial published Wednesday, Bal Thackeray says Hindu suicide squads should be created to safeguard India. He says bombs should also be placed in Muslim neighborhoods, where Islamic terrorists live.
Thackeray is a member of the Shiv Sena party, a hard-line Hindu party based in the western state of Maharashtra. His remarks were published in the party's newspaper, Saamna.
Members of India's ruling Congress party Thursday strongly condemned his remarks.
India's main Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also rejected Thackeray's comments. BJP vice president, Venkaiah Naidu, said people can not take the law in their own hands, and that there are democratic ways to address the problem of terrorism.
The unsigned editorial, which Shiv Sena party members confirmed was written by Thackeray, referred to last month's bomb explosion at a movie theater in Maharashtra's capital, Mumbai, in which a Hindu group was allegedly involved.
India has blamed Islamic militant groups based in Pakistan, for attacks in New Delhi and Mumbai in recent years. Security experts say these groups use local Muslims to carry out the attacks.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.