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Batla House encounter: Congress distances itself from Digvijaya Singh; says encounter 'genuine'

Speed News Desk | Updated on: 25 May 2016, 19:24 IST

On 25 May, Congress distanced itself from its Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh's claims on the 2008 Batla House encounter, saying it was not a fake encounter and, therefore, there was no need to sensationalise the issue.

Earlier, on 24 May, Digvijay Singh had called the 2008 Batla House encounter "fake" and asked the central government to order a judicial probe into the case in which two suspected terrorists and a police officer were killed, reported Tehelka.

"The encounter was fake. I challenge the BJP to conduct a judicial probe into it. I still stand by my remarks," said Singh.

Former Union home minister Shivraj Patil while reaffirming that the 2008 Batla House encounter was genuine, asked Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh to prove his claim on the same.

"I had told at that time that on the basis of information received from the police and taking into consideration all facts, according to me it was a genuine encounter. I cannot change my stand on a daily basis," Patil told ANI.

"If someone says something otherwise then it's his responsibility to prove it. If he is saying that it was a fake encounter then he should prove it," he added.

Advocate and Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi also told ANI, "The party's stand on the encounter is clear. We maintain Batla House was not a fake encounter. There is no point of calling individual statements."

The Delhi High Court and the National Human Rights Commission too have observed it was not a fake encounter.

The Congress party's stand against Digvijaya Singh came after he had questioned the party's leadership by tweeting,"today's results disappointing but not unexpected. We have done enough Introspection shouldn't we go for a Major Surgery ?"

On Wednesday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy also joined the force against Singh saying he should be investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for deliberately misleading the nation.

First published: 25 May 2016, 19:24 IST