The Congress on Wednesday defended party general secretary Rahul Gandhi's claim of 74 mounds of ash containing human remains having been found in Bhatta Parsaul village of Greater Noida and asked the Uttar Pradesh government to order a probe.
"We stand by every word Rahul Gandhi has said," party leader Digvijay Singh, who is here for a two-day Congress conclave, told news channel CNN IBN. Singh's comments came after the Uttar Pradesh government said Rahul Gandhi's claims were false. "What he has said is on the basis of his stay in that village, consultations with the farmers, people from that area, this is what I am saying. If the chief minister Mayawati is so sure of what she has said, then she should order an investigation," Singh said.
The state's ruling Bahujan Samaj Party had refuted Rahul Gandhi's claim calling it "baseless" on Tuesday. Rahul Gandhi on Monday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with some farmers and handed over pictures of burnt bodies, ashes with bones and ransacked houses in Bhatta Parsaul. He also said the state government had committed rapes and other atrocities on local people. Bhatta Parsaul was hit by violence following a clash between the Uttar Pradesh government and farmers over land acquisition.