Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament Yogi Adityanath today welcomed the acquittal of Sadhvi Pragya Thakur in the 2008 Malegaon blast case and accused the Congress of committing 'treason' for its role in her arrest.

"The role of Congress in her (Sadhvi Pragya's) arrest was nothing short of treason... what the NIA (National Investigation Agency) and Maharashtra ATS (Anti-Terrorism Squad) did in the investigations of Samjhauta Express explosion is also not less than treason," he told reporters.

The Gorakhpur MP also objected to the term 'saffron terrorism coined by the Congress' and demanded a public apology by the party for it. To a question on the murder of a journalist in Bihar, Adityanath said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should concentrate on law and order of his state instead of coming and issuing statements in Uttar Pradesh.

"People in Bihar voted him (Nitish) to power in the name of sushasan (good governance) but crime is on the rise in the state and professional mafia elements are getting support from the ruling party," he added.