Gujarat minister Harsh Sanghavi on Sunday targeted the Congress over the arrest of a maulvi a day earlier for allegedly planning to kill a Hindu leader and threaten a BJP MLA on orders of his handlers in Pakistan and Nepal and said the opposition party must not "inspire" such persons.

The comment from the minister of state for home in the BJP government here evoked a sharp response from the Congress, which said the ruling party was trying to hide its own incompetence in controlling crimes.

Surat police on Saturday arrested maulvi Sohel Abubakr Timol (27) for allegedly planning to murder the leader of a Hindu organisation in Surat and threatening the chief editor of Sudarshan TV, former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and Telangana MLA Raja Singh in connivance with handlers from Pakistan and Nepal.

"The maulvi was hatching a big plan to murder BJP and Hindu leaders. The chat messages and Rs 1 crore supari (for the purpose) offered by his masters sitting in Pakistan has been exposed. The way the maulvi was instigating youth and children for anti-national activities stands exposed," Sanghavi told a Gujarat news channel.

"I want to tell the Congress that you will get many political opportunities but it is a sin to save maulvis like him. It is a sin to inspire these type of clerics. The Congress should stop making indirect efforts in this direction," he added.

Hitting back, chairperson of social media and digital platforms of the Congress Supriya Shrinate said the BJP had made it a habit to blame everything on her party.

By making such statements, the minister was trying to hide his own incompetence in controlling crimes that are taking place under his nose, she said here.

"For over three decades the state government has been yours. You have been in power at the Centre for a decade. It is for you to take action and find out about such criminal activities. How is it happening under your nose? Will you blame Congress for everything? You blame the Congress while saving Prajwal Revanna and Brij Bhushan," questioned Shrinate.

Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said Sanghavi does not understand the dignity of his post and neither does he keep himself informed about facts emerging from his home ministry.

"If anyone has committed an anti-national act, then there is a law to tackle it. At the same time, the minister should reply as to how Surat has emerged as the crime capital of the state? How has Gujarat become a drug hub?" Doshi said.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.