NEW DELHI: Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad slammed the Congress for playing “vote bank politics” after the conviction of an accused Ariz Khan in the Batla House encounter case. Prasad said Congress leaders Salman Khurshid and Digvijay Singh had sought to cast aspersions on the encounter for “sheer vote bank politics”.
A deliberate campaign was launched to doubt the genuineness of the encounter with the motive of weakening the morale of the Delhi Police personnel,” said Prasad. The minister said the conviction of Ariz Khan has vindicated the operation of the Delhi Police against the terrorists who were hiding in the Batla House.
“We recall when we were in the Opposition, the senior officials of Delhi Police would plead to us to save them from the smear campaign against the authenticity of the Batla House encounter. That was despite the fact that Delhi Police official Mohan Chand Sharma was posthumously awarded Ashok Chakra for the bravery shown in the Batla House encounter,” added Prasad.
“Salman Khurshid shed tears and Digvijay Singh went to Azamgarh. They cast doubts on the encounter despite the fact that the national capital had earlier been struck with serial blasts, leaving 39 people dead,” added Prasad.