New Delhi, Februayr 04: The political storm over the Batla House encounter is swirling again with the BJP Thursday slamming senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh for raising suspicion over last year’s infamous shootout in Delhi and sought an explanation from the Prime Minister on the issue.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “It is highly unfortunate that a senior Congress leader, who is also the in-charge of UP, has raised suspicion over the rightful action taken by police during the encounter with terrorists at Batla House.”
“We strongly condemn the hypocritical behaviour of the Congress party and demand an explanation from the Government of India, the Prime Minister and the Congress party over the Batla House encounter,” he added.
Attacking Congress party, Prasad stated, “The remarks made by Digvijay Singh reflect the diseased mindset of the Congress party, which is also deeply engaged in vote bank politics.”
“At one point of time the Congress party says those responsible for the Batla Encounter must be punished but at the same time a senior Congress leader goes to meet families of main suspects and Indian Mujahideen operatives at Sanjarpur in Azamgarh,” he quizzed.
“Both cannot go together. So we demand the Congress party to explain its stand over the issue,” he added.
Referring to Digvijay Singh’s meeting with the families of the IM operatives in Sanjarpur village, Prasad said, “This is a very shocking development. Would they also go and visit the homes of terrorists who intrude into the Indian territory to foment trouble and disrupt peace and harmony.”
“This is clearly an insult to our security forces which are working tirelessly to protect us,” he said.
He also pointed fingers to another Congress leader Salman Khurshid for supporting Digvijay Singh in demanding an independent probe in the case.
Meanwhile, Digvijay Singh, who has come under attack over his comments on Batla House shootout in Delhi backtracked today and said that he never termed the gun battle as fake.
“I am not carrying out investigations… I am not an investigating agency. So, I am not in a position to say the encounter (gunbattle) was fake… I haven’t ever termed the encounter fake,” Singh, who is on a two-day visit to Azamgarh, 300 km from here, told reporters.
Without taking the names of the two alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives killed in the shootout Atif and Chhota Sajid, natives of Sanjarpur town in Azamgarh, Singh Wednesday had told reporters, “I have seen the photographs of one of the boys killed in the encounter… The photo shows a bullet pierced his head… It should be noted that normally in encounters, one is not shot in the head.”
Coming out in his self-defence, Singh said, “I have only said that bullet injury in head not appear normal in encounters,” quickly adding “as I have not conducted any inquiry, I am no one to tell about the encounter”.
“Though it’s true that the aggrieved party was not satisfied by the human rights commission enquiry into the shootout… I got complaints that the version of the aggrieved party was not taken by the commission,” he said.
Singh had raised doubts over the Batla House shootout that took place September 2008 in New Delhi on Wednesday, which triggered a political storm over the issue.
Ask him why he made such a statement: Abhishek Manu Singhvi
Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson has tried to distance the party from Digvijay Singh’s statements.
On questions from reporters about his stand on the issue, Sinhvi said, “You should ask him why he made such a statement.”
Meanwhile, the BJP leadership has also jumped in support of the Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who has landed in a soup over his IPL remarks.
Rejecting the actor’s criticism by some political parties over his IPL remarks, Prasad said, “It is wrong to term Shah Rukh as a traitor. As an artist, he has made the country immensly proud at the international level.”
-Agencies