LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party on Sunday once again questioned the authenticity of the Batla House encounter in Delhi and demanded a judicial probe to unravel the truth and restore confidence of minorities.
"Doubts have been raised over the authenticity of the shootout. To bring out the truth, it is imperative to order a judicial inquiry," SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said here.
If the probe was not ordered, it would adversely affect people's confidence, especially those of minorities, in the administrative set up, he said.
Yadav evaded a direct reply when asked whether his party would withdraw support to the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre if the judicial probe was not ordered into the September 19 shootout.
He merely said if the government failed to accept the demand, it would create an atmosphere of ill will against it.
Two suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorists and a Delhi Police Inspector were killed in the shootout in the national capital.
A section of Muslims and several civil society groups had questioned the authenticity of the encounter.
Last week, SP general secretary Amar Singh met Prime Manmohan Singh and requested him to order a judicial inquiry into the encounter.
On upcoming assembly polls in five states, the SP chief said his party would contest maximum seats in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The party would also field candidates on a few seats in Chhattisgarh and Delhi, he added.
Asked whether the Samajwadi Party would forge electoral alliances with the Congress outside Uttar Pradesh, Yadav said talks were on in this regard.
Reiterating his demand for a ban on Bajrang Dal, he said "if SIMI can be banned, why not the saffron outfit."
The SP chief said his party would launch a three-day stir against the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh beginning October 21.
