Shah attacks Sonia on Batla House shootout, defends Pragya

Kolkata, April 22 (IANS) BJP President Amit Shah on Monday attacked UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi for allegedly grieving for terrorists killed in the 2008 Batla House shootout, but not for the police inspector who died then.

He assailed the opposition parties for "failing to present" a clear cut policy on national security and claimed Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur was framed in the Malegaon blast case.

Addressing the media here, Shah said people across the country were voting with enthusiasm to make Narendra Modi Prime Minister again for the decisive, capable, sensitive and strong leadership that he has provided over the past five years.

To a query on Congress leader Salman Khurshid's challenge to the BJP for a debate on the Batla House gunfight, Shah said the incident happened during the UPA's rule.

"I have a question for Congress. Why was it that after the encounter Sonia Gandhi was in tears for the death of the terrorists, but she did not grieve for the brave PI (police inspector) who was martyred."

The Batla House encounter took place on September 19, 2008 between the Delhi Police and Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorists in Batla House locality of Delhi's Jamia Nagar. Two suspected terrorists were killed, two other suspects got arrested while one accused managed to flee. Delhi Police inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, an 'Encounter specialist', was killed during the incident.

Defending his party's decision to field Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur as its candidate from Bhopal, Shah claimed she had been framed in the name of "Hindu terror" and the real culprits were still out of the purview of law.

Thakur, prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, is now out on bail.

Referring to the 2007 Samjahuta Express bombing, he said false cases were also lodged against former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist Swami Aseemanand and others.

Hitting out at the opposition, he also alleged that they have failed to put forward a single leader before the nation, and their manifestoes were only targeted at grabbing power at any cost.

According to Shah, the choice before the nation was to choose between the "concrete work" done by the Modi government for the welfare of the people and the "hollow promises" of the opposition.

"The information from across the country on the first two phase of (Lok Sabha) polls is that the people have voted with enthusiasm to make Modi Prime Minister again," he claimed.

He said while the Modi-led NDA government declared a clear-cut policy for country's security and implemented it for five years to successfully lay down on the ground a zero tolerance policy on terrorism, the "entire opposition is silent on national security for the sake of their votebank politics".

On the leadership issue, Shah said over the past five years people have experienced the decisive and capable leadership provide by Modi.

Shah said the refugees in Bengal and elsewhere in the country will not face any problems due to the implementation of National Register of Citizens (NRC), as all of them will be given Indian citizenship through the Citizenship Amendment Bill prior to that.

Shah iterated that NRC will be implemented across the country.

"It is not just for Bengal. Infiltration is a major national issue. In Bengal, it can have a greater implication as it is a border state," he said.

Affirming that his party has put "special focus" on Bengal to reinstate democracy, give refugees their deserved rights and drive out all the infiltrators, he said BJP was not focussing on the state to make up for the seats it might lose in other states compared to the previous general election.

Citing the first two phases of polling in Bengal, Shah claimed that there is a clear wave in favour of the BJP and urged people in rural areas to cast their votes in groups to resist any attack by "Trinamool Congress goons".