Even as a sessions court in New Delhi on Thursday gave its judgment on the much talked about Batala House encounter, holding accused Shahzad Ahmad guilty of killing Delhi Police sub inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, senior Congress leader and AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh here refused to backtrack from his earlier statement terming the encounter as fake.
Digvijay, who was in the city in connection with a private function, said though he had not seen the judgment, his statement was based on his ‘inquiry’. However, the senior Congress leader said that those who had any objection to the sessions court’s judgment might file an appeal. Digvijay, who has the uncanny knack of remaining in controversies for his off the cuff remarks, had caused a flutter in political fraternity sometime back by describing the Batala House encounter as fake. Reacting to his statement, the Bharatiya Janata Party had demanded an unconditional apology from him.
However, on Thursday when Singh was asked whether he would seek apology from the BJP for his remarks, he said he would never do so. “Main zindagi ke akhiri sans tak BJP se mafi nahi mangunga (I shall never seek apology from the BJP),” Digvijay said in an informal chat with media persons here. Surprisingly, his statement on Batala House encounter was in sharp contrast to his party colleague and Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s statement, who while talking to media persons in Delhi, described the encounter as genuine. Chidambaram who had monitored the Batala House case in the capacity of the then Home Minister today said the gunfight between police and the Indian Mujahideen terrorists at Batala House was genuine.