New Delhi: Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad speaking on the Supreme Court verdict regarding the Batla House encounter, lashed out at the Congress-led opposition, questioning why they are silent now and asked if Sonia Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal will apologise.
"Why is the Congress, Mamata Didi and all those who questioned the Batla House encounter silent now after the court's verdict in this case," the Union Minister said, adding that even Arvind Kejriwal had raised his voice over the incident.
Inspector Sharma of the Special Cell of Delhi Police was killed in the encounter, which took place a week after five serial blasts had rocked Delhi on September 13, 2008, killing at least 30 people and injuring over 100. On the other hand, two terrorists were killed while two others managed to flee.
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Following the encounter, protest rallies were organised by teachers and students of Jamia Millia Islamia University. The National Human Rights Commission(NHRC), which had conducted an inquiry in the case on the direction of the Delhi High Court, gave Delhi Police a clean chit.
Ravi Shankar Prasad even reminded of a senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid has said that the INC President had tears in his eyes when two terrorists were neutralised. Earlier, several organisations and the opposition parties had demanded an inquiry into the incident stating that the encounter could've been a fake one and that the deceased were students instead of terrorists. Earlier in October 2008, the TMC Supremo Mamta Banerjee along with a 21-member delegation had visited Batla House along with the Imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque, Kolkata.
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The Union Minister also criticised the Opposition for playing 'petty politics' with issues linked to the nation's security and for questioning the action of the law enforcement agencies. He even went on to say that a "conscious, deliberate and consistent attempt had been made to cast serious doubts on the authenticity of the Batla House encounter, in a bid to weaken the morale of Delhi Police," adding that this is being done for the benefit of vote bank politics.
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The Minister of Law and Justice also said that the convicted terrorist was responsible for the death of over 165 people in terror blasts across the country, adding that efforts to nab him intensified after the BJP assumed power in 2014 and subsequently he was apprehended from Nepal in 2018. While terror attacks, including in Mumbai and several other cities, occurred during the UPA rule, the BJP government gave a free hand to security forces to undertake preemptive measures and launch surgical strikes like the one in Balakot when terrorists hit India's interests, he said.
