EXCLUSIVE: UPA govt, Lashkar worked in tandem in Ishrat Jahan case, claims Kiren Rijiju
Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that the previous Home Ministry, under P Chidambaram, worked with Lashkar-e-Taiba to go soft on terror.
In Short
- Rijiju claims UPA govt worked in tandem with LeT to cover-up the case
- BJP had alleged that Chidambaram changed affidavit is Ishrat case
- Ishrat, 3 others killed in an encounter near Ahmedabad, June, 2004
In one of the most fiercest attacks on the previous Congress-led UPA rule, a top Modi government minister has claimed that the then Home Ministry worked in tandem with Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to cover-up the 'truth'.
In an exclusive interview with India Today's Gaurav Sawant Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that the previous Home Ministry, under P Chidambaram, worked with Lashkar to go soft on terror.
HERE'S WHAT RIJIJU SAID:
- I personally admire P Chidambaram. He is one of the finest administrators, he is one of the most capable ministers that we had.
- But how he was forced to give a cleanchit to a hardcore terrorist?
- I had said this earlier also, we don't feel that Chidambaram was alone in giving a cleanchit to Ishrat Jahan. It must have been very calculated and calibrated effort from the some of the top Congress leaders.
- If you see the Malegaon blast, Samjhauta blast and Ishrat Jahan case, you can see how things have turned around.
- In Ishrat Jahan case... the Lashkar declared Ishrat as a martyr soon after the encounter. And the day a top official was appointed to probe the case, the Lashkar changed their statement, saying they had made a mistake and Ishrat was not part of their module.
- This show that they were working in tandem, it is such a disastrous thing to happen in such a great country like India.
Rijiju's explosive charges assume massive significance in the light of the continuing political controversy over Ishrat's claimed identity as a Pakistan-backed terrorist and allegations that the UPA government at the time fudged documents to mask her identity in an attempt to corner Gujarat leaders, including Amit Shah and then chief minister Narendra Modi.
RIJIJU SHOULD BE SACKED IMMEDIATELY: CONGRESS
Rubbishing Rijiju's claims, the Congress has demanded his sacking from the Cabinet.
"The minister should be sacked immediately. This is a very irresponsible statement by him. Did we ever said that when the NDA chauffeur on a terrorist to Kandahar, the NDA was working in tandem with Jaish-e-Mohammad? This is absolutely preposterous," Congress leader Manish Tewari told India Today
CHIDAMBARAM CHANGED AFFIDAVIT IN ISHRAT CASE
File notings on the altered second affidavit in the Ishrat Jahan case indicate changes were made after instructions from the top.
Government sources had revealed that a review of the draft note sent by then home secretary GK Pillai to the home minister made it clear that the changes in the amended affidavits were made by Chidambaram himself.
Ishrat, 19, was killed along with Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai from Kerala, and two alleged Pakistanis - Zeeshan Johar and Amjad Ali Rana - on June 15, 2004 on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.
Also Read:
This is what has happened in Ishrat Jahan case since 2004
Ishrat Jahan case: Congress watched terror plot bloom, says BJP
Revealed: Chidambaram changed affidavit in Ishrat Jahan case