New Delhi: The Ishrat Jahan case continues to trouble the Congress as the home ministry’s auditing reveals that the files were cleared by then home minister P. Chidambaram himself after amending the so-called original draft of the affidavit. The first affidavit was filed on the basis of inputs from the Maharashtra and Gujarat police, besides the Intelligence Bureau, where it was said that the 19-year-old girl from Mumbai outskirts was a Lashkar-e-Tayyaba activist, but it was completely ignored in the second affidavit, sources said quoting file notings.
Meanwhile, the controversy surrounding the 2004 encounter took a fresh turn as another former bureaucrat in the home ministry questioned the need for a second affidavit. On Wednesday, former joint secretary in the home ministry A.K. Jain was quoted by news channels as saying that there was no reason to doubt the inputs provided by the Gujarat government and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in relation to the case.
Then under-secretary R.S.V. Mani has already gone on the record saying that he was “ordered” to sign the second affidavit before filing in the court. “The MHA may order an inquiry if a review of the files reveals any discrepancies. However, so far, it shows that no ‘legal’ loophole or ‘extraneous influence’ can be pointed out in the matter,” an official said. Citing file notings, sources said while the affidavit was changed by then home minister, former home secretary G.K. Pillai did not record any dissent that he was not consulted.
BJP wants debate on Ishrat case
Alleging that the real motive behind the then UPA government’s plan to change the affidavit in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case was to “stop Narendra Modi, defame Narendra Modi, implicate Narendra Modi”, the BJP on Tuesday said the issue needs to be debated and discussed in Parliament and appropriate action needs to be taken.
The ruling party alleged that the decision to change the affidavit was taken at the “political level” and involved the then home minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, the then Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and asked the Congress to come clean on it.
Charging the then Congress-led UPA government with misusing the CBI, senior BJP leader and parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu said, “First it was LeT’s website, later it was David Headley’s statement, and thirdly it was the Central government affidavit in the Gujarat high court and Gujarat police also said it. IB has said it. In spite of all these, they changed the affidavit.” The minister said now another startling revelation by former home secretary G.K. Pillai said the decision to change the affidavit was taken at the political level.
