Meri maa ke aansu…: Priyanka Gandhi hits back at Amit Shah over Batla remark

India Today

4 days ago

Senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday lashed out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah after he accused Sonia Gandhi of shedding tears for terrorists killed in the 2008 Batla House encounter. She said her mother had cried when her father was killed by terrorists, and it was because of that pain she witnessed her mother endure that she could stand up for those who lost their loved ones in the Pahalgam terror attacks.advertisement"My mother's tears were brought up. I will respond to this. My mother shed those tears when her husband (Rajiv Gandhi) was martyred by terrorists. If I am standing in this House and speaking about the 26 people killed in the Pahalgam terror attack, it is because I know and can feel their pain," said the Congress MP from Wayanad while speaking during the Operation Sindoor debate.Earlier in the day, Amit Shah tore into Sonia Gandhi, accusing the former Congress chief of sympathising with the two Indian Mujahideen terrorists killed in the encounter, while turning a blind eye to the sacrifice of the officer who died in action.
"I remember one morning during breakfast, I saw Salman Khurshid crying on the TV. He was coming out of Sonia Gandhi's residence... He said that Sonia Gandhi was sobbing at the Batla House incident. She should have cried for Shaheed Mohan Sharma instead of the terrorists of the Batla house..."The Union Home Minister invoked the Batla House encounter of September 19, 2008, to attack the Congress, referring to how he saw party leader Salman Khurshid crying for the dead terrorists.On September 13, 2008, five serial blasts rocked Delhi, killing about 30 people and leaving several injured. The Indian Mujahideen had claimed responsibility for the bomb blasts.A week after the blasts, a Delhi Police team, led by encounter specialist Mohan Chand Sharma, raided a flat in south Delhi's Batla House following a tip that the terrorists were holed up there.As police tried to enter the building, an encounter broke out. In the heavy firing, two terrorists, Atif Ameen and Mohammad Sajid, and Sharma were killed.Years later, Salman Khurshid, while addressing a rally during the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, claimed that Sonia Gandhi, the then Congress president, cried bitterly after seeing the images of the slain terrorists.It was this incident that Amit Shah raked up during his speech in Parliament."I have saved that speech of Salman Khurshid on my mobile phone. Decide a time for tomorrow. I can share it here. People will also watch," the BJP leader said.- Ends