BJP invokes Batla House encounter: ‘Sonia Gandhi cried for terrorists'

Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had “cried for terrorists” after the Batla House encounter in 2008, Bharatiya Janata Party president JP Nadda claimed on Wednesday. Addressing an election rally in Bihar's Madhubani, Nadda accused the Congress and its allies of always standing in support of those who try to "weaken" India.

JP Nadda asked the Congress what Sonia Gandhi's relation with "traitors" was.

"During the Batla encounter, terrorists were killed and their (Congress) leaders said that Sonia Gandhi cried. She cried for terrorists. What is your relation with traitors? What is the reason behind your sympathy? What do you like in them?," he said.

In September 2008, during an encounter at Batla House, Delhi police inspector Mohan Sharma and two terrorists, Atif and Sajid, were killed.

JP Nadda called the INDIA bloc "arrogant" alliance.

"They (Congress) stand with those and sympathise with those who weaken the country. This is the arrogant alliance, the INDI alliance. Will you support them?" JP Nadda asked.

Why did JP Nadda make the remark?

JP Nadda's remark was apparently in reference to Congress leader Salman Khurshid's 2012 remark that pictures of the Batla House encounter case had brought tears to Sonia Gandhi's eyes.

"I was not a minister at that time but still took the issue of the Batla encounter to Sonia Gandhi and she had tears in her eyes," Salman Khurshid had said at an election meeting in 2012.

Also read: Sonia cried after seeing Batla encounter images: Khurshid

However, the same year, another Congress stalwart, Digvijaya Singh, had refuted Salman Khurshid's claim.

"Sonia Gandhi did not cry, this is Salman Khurshid's own words," Digvijaya Singh had said.

Also read: Sonia never cried over Batla, says Digvijaya

BJP vs Congress over Muslim quota

The BJP and the Congress are currently embroiled in a war of words over the former's allegation that the latter had promised to snatch away the people's wealth and distribute it among Muslims.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened another front as he claimed that the Congress was preparing to cut the reservation quota for SCs, STs and OBCs to grant religion-based reservation.

“Today, such a truth of Congress has come out that stunned the countrymen. Our constitution clearly prohibits reservation based on religion. BR Ambedkar himself was against this but Congress has taken a dangerous resolution and to complete this they are continuously trying to fool people and play their own game. Congress has given reservations in Andhra Pradesh based on religion in 2004. In their manifesto for the 2009 and 2014 elections, they have promised religion-based reservations... Congress is preparing to cut the quota of SC, ST and OBC and to implement reservations based on religion,” PM Modi said.

With inputs from ANI