Sympathy for Ishrat cost Congress dear in Gujarat: Jaitley

Buoyed by its good showing in Gujarat assembly bypolls, BJP today said sympathising with Ishrat Jahan and her accomplices killed in 2004 police encounter despite a union home ministry affidavit naming them LeT operatives proved counter-productive for Congress in the electoral battle.

“In an election week, to shoot yourself in the foot by identifying with somebody whom even the UPA’s home ministry has referred to as a LeT activist….I think Congress has miscalculated it,” senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said today.

Jaitley said as per the home ministry affidavit, those killed in the 2004 encounter were people acting at the behest of terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Toiba to “eliminate
political leadership in India”. The Union Home Secretary still maintains its affidavit is correct, he pointed out.

“I think for the Congress to identify with these kind of causes in the election week in Gujarat was counter-productive,” the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha told NDTV.

Talking to reporters, Jaitley said the win in Gujarat shows Chief Minister Narendra Modi is a “strong” factor. “In Lok Sabha polls, national factors came into play,” he said. BJP had increased its 2004 Lok Sabha tally of 14 seats by one.