Ishrat Jahan encounter: Congress must pay for framing Modi, Shah

The Congress and the Left are literally on the streets protesting over a horde of issues – such as against the arrests of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students, Rohith Vemula suicide case and Union minister of state for human resource development Ram Shankar Katheria's controversial statement on Muslims. But these are at best being viewed as diversionary tactics of the Opposition to take the nation’s attention from the biggest raging controversy of Ishrat Jahan’s alleged fake encounter case.

The anti-national slogan-shouting issue in JNU may have occupied the space of national debate but it is the Ishrat Jahan case which has put the Congress on the defensive. The Congress is seen running for cover ever since the testimony of Pakistani-American terrorist David Headley on February 11 that the woman, who was killed in an encounter in 2004 by Gujarat police, was working for terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Also read: The political murder of Ishrat Jahan 12 years after her encounter

Headley’s testimony has proved just the beginning of the days of major embarrassment for the Congress. Subsequently, one senior bureaucrat after another is spilling the beans over the issue, which threatens to be the biggest cause of humiliation for the Congress after the National Herald case and the allegations of snooping by first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru on the members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s family which was exposed by India Today on the basis of some declassified files.

Headley’s testimony was questioned by the Opposition and was touted as being "managed". However, the subsequent revelations, by responsible citizens from this side of the border, have left the Congress defenceless.

Former Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials had always opposed the UPA government’s stand over the sensitive issue. IB’s first Muslim director Asif Ibrahim, appointed by the UPA government during Chidambaram’s successor Sushil Kumar Shinde’s tenure in November 2012, opposed tooth and nail the CBI’s move to arrest his colleague Rajendra Kumar for his role in the encounter.

As the head of IB Gujarat unit, Kumar had tipped off the state police on the activities of Ishrat Jahan and her "friends". But the UPA was accused of plotting to frame Kumar through the CBI. This had already embarrassed the Congress.

The first severe jolt to the Congress came last week from former home secretary GK Pillai, who alleged that P Chidambaram, in his capacity as home minister, had personally got references to Ishrat Jahan’s LeT links dropped. He accused Chidambaram, his then boss, of overseeing controversial changes in the Centre's affidavit in the case in 2009 and bypassing him.

But the Congress suffered one of the hardest blows ever since it lost power 21 months back when its bluff was called by another former bureaucrat RVS Mani. The former under secretary (Internal Security) alleged that he was tortured and even burnt with cigarette stubs by special investigating team (SIT) team chief Satish Verma. He was forced to sign the second affidavit, which as per Chidambaram’s wishes, sought to drop references to Ishrat Jahan as a terrorist having LeT links.

Also read: Trusting Headley's revelation on Ishrat Jahan is dangerous for India

Verma also indicated that the SIT wanted him to implicate the IB officers of the Gujarat unit. The UPA government had submitted two affidavits in the Supreme Court in the case. The first one nailed Ishrat and her three friends, who were killed in the encounter, calling them terrorists. However, in the second affidavit, which was filed within two months, the government did a volte face.

What has been revealed so far by Headley and the former bureaucrats is certainly explosive and upturns the whole case, built by the UPA regime, on its head. It has a serious fallout on national politics and puts a question mark over the decisions of the Congress-led previous government.

The intentions of the Manmohan Singh government are open to scrutiny now, not just in the Ishrat Jahan case, but also others like the Gujarat 2002 riots, the alleged fake encounters of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, his wife Kausar Bi and Tulsi Prajapati. It will not be unjustified if there are demands to reopen all these cases and have them re-examined as they sought to implicate Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the then Gujarat chief minister, and BJP president Amit Shah, the then minister of state for home.

It reveals a clear cut attempt by the UPA regime to incriminate Modi, Shah and the BJP government in Gujarat by hook or by crook. The Congress will be targeted for nursing the hatred even now by not playing the role of a constructive opposition. It is being accused of becoming a roadblock in development by disrupting Parliament.

The gravest charge which the Congress faces is that it can compromise with national security to fulfil its own interests. They are already being dubbed as backing "anti-national" activities after party vice-president Rahul Gandhi visited the JNU campus to lend support to the students who were protesting the arrest of JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar.

Also read: Headley's revelation on Ishrat Jahan exposes 'seculars'

The BJP will stand to gain from all these and will be seen as being a true "patriotic" party with national interest and security topping its agenda. The image of the Congress will get severely dented and it will lose the support of "nationalists". This will have the potential to damage the Congress’ prospects in the forthcoming Assembly elections.