Modi-phobia engulfing Cong: Jaitley

Days after Intelligence Bureau officials were questioned by the CBI in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, BJP leader Arun Jaitley has questioned the move.

He alleged that IB sleuths have come under the scanner due to “Modi-phobia engulfing the Congress.”

“The cost of the Modi-phobia will now be paid by the Intelligence Bureau. Its senior officials will be grilled. They will be asked questions with regard to the authenticity of the intelligence which is collected. Motives could be attributed to them for having collected material against the Lashkar-e-Toiba and passed it to the Gujarat Police,”  Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley remarked in his piece, “Should CBI uncover the IB”, released to the media on Tuesday.

The CBI was handed over the investigation into the case by the courts after Jahan’s mother filed a PIL saying that her daughter was innocent and sought action against the Gujarat cops.

Jaitley said he had gone through the documents regarding the case and found that the government changed its stand before the court on sharing intelligence input with the state. “The political regime in Delhi saw an opportunity in the alleged encounter in which this LeT module was liquidated. The Government of India decided to change its affidavit before the Gujarat High Court. The new affidavit almost disowned the intelligence inputs,” he said.

The BJP leader said the volte-face by the government, which he charged was politically motivated, “damages the consistent stand” of the Centre that whereas “public order” and “law and order” are state subjects, “the battle against terrorism deals with the security of India and national sovereignty.”

Jaitley sarcastically commented that only Pakistan and the LeT would have the last laugh.

 “Harass the Gujarat government even if it means destroying India’s security apparatus, the object of the Congress is clear,” he concluded.