New Delhi, Aug. 11: The Union home minister, Mr P.Chidambaram, lashed out at the BJP in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case stating that the decision to transfer the probe from the Gujarat CID to the CBI was taken by the Supreme Court.
He further said that the BJP’s contention that it was not a fake encounter is “a most outrageous attack on the judiciary of the country and the premier investigative agency of the country”.
He didn’t spare the saffron party on the issue of the killing of Maoist leader Azad during an encounter in Andhra Pradesh last month.
The party which had demanded a CBI probe into Azad’s killing on Wednesday in the Lok Sabha found itself in the line of fire of Mr Chidambaram on Wednesday.
Mr Chidambaram told the BJP benches in particular, “Raise it in the AP House. Ask for an inquiry. Get an inquiry done. How can I order an inquiry?”
Taking a swipe at the Opposition, he asked, “Under what law do I order an inquiry for something in AP?” while noting that law and order is a state subject.
Asserting that Centre will not allow anyone to support Maoists in the country, Mr Chidambaram said the Centre has so far no evidence to prove that Maoists are getting anti-national or international support.
To a question on whether government will let people go scot-free if they are supporting Maoists but are ministers or holds a powerful position, in an apparent hint at the Railway minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, Mr Chidambaram said “To a question that is framed in such a general manner, the answer can also be in a general manner. No one should support Maoists and the government would certainly not encourage anyone to support Maoists.”
He was responding to a debate on the Bhopal gas tragedy in the LS on Wednesday evening but chose to digress.