Digvijay Singh assures Jamia students of taking Batla issue to Sonia Gandhi

Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh today assured students and teachers of Jamia Milia Islamia of an audience with party president Sonia Gandhi regarding their concerns over the Batla House encounter probe.

Addressing a gathering of students and teachers on the second anniversary of the encounter, Singh, however, faced stiff opposition from a section of students who accused him of double speak on the sensitive issue.

The group, wearing black arm bands, accused Singh of speaking on different notes when he visited family members of the slain students in Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh and when he was in New Delhi.

"It is true that when I was in Azamgarh I said that I will not like to speak about the case but I said that I will raise the issue of clubbing of cases at the highest level when I get back to New Delhi," Singh said.

He pointed out he and his party had sought for a judicial probe into the encounter and even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was approached concerning this.

"I can assure you that if a delegation of yours is keen, I can arrange for a meeting with the Congress president so that you may raise all your issues before her," Singh said.

He, at the same time, told the students that he faces opposition from his own party men on the issue.

"Whether you believe it or not, I face opposition from within my own party over this issue but still, I am ready to stand by your side and come where ever you want to raise your concerns," the Congress leader told the gathering.

Two suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorists, who were also students of the varsity, were killed by Delhi police in the Batla House encounter. A senior Delhi police official MC Sharma also lost his life in the shootout.

Claiming that there were fundamentalist elements in the society, media and various institutions who were constantly trying to depict Muslims in bad light, he said, what were the reasons behind the information leak in the David Hadley case linking it with the death of a Muslim girl Ishrat Jehan.

Taking a dig at investigating agencies, the Congress leader said, "Barely few days after a team from India went to interrogate Headley, a newspaper report claimed he told Ishrat Jehan about his links with Lashkar-e-Taiba. This is a serious issue. Government of India had an understanding with FBI about confidentiality over the interrogation.

"How did this information leak just ahead of a Supreme court hearing in the matter. Today, this fight is about an ideology, which is followed by certain people in police, government, bureaucracy and even some in the judiciary."

He vehemently denied any claims from the section of agitated students that Congress was using the Batla House issue for its political gains and reminded that it was the only party that "stood by the community".