In his fiery speech during the Operation Sindoor debate in Parliament, Home Minister Amit Shah invoked the 2008 Batla House encounter, accusing the Congress of having a soft approach to terrorism during its tenure.
Shah questioned the then-ruling party's moral authority to seek accountability from the current government on national security matters.
Citing Congress leader Salman Khurshid’s emotional comments following the Batla House encounter on September 19, 2008, the Home Minister criticised the response of the party’s top leadership.
“I saw Salman Khurshid crying on television. He said Sonia Gandhi broke down after seeing the encounter photos. If anyone deserved tears, it was Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma and not the terrorists. It’s shameful,” Shah said, lashing out at the Opposition.
The Batla House encounter, which took place on September 19, 2008, in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar, resulted in the deaths of two Indian Mujahideen operatives. Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma of the Delhi Police was martyred in the line of duty.
The Home Minister’s remarks come on the second day of the high-stakes debate in Parliament on the cross-border military operation, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to address the Lok Sabha later in the evening.
In the Rajya Sabha, the government’s defence will be led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. PM Modi may also intervene during the Upper House session, which is scheduled for a 16-hour-long debate.
Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi is likely to speak ahead of the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha, while Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is slated to open the Opposition’s arguments in the Rajya Sabha, where the party has been allotted two hours.
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