New Delhi

The BJP today said Supreme Court judgement rejecting Sanjiv Bhatt’s plea for SIT probe in 2002 riots has brought out the truth and confirmed its apprehensions about Congress patronising pressure groups to defame Narendra Modi and Gujarat for years, and asked it to learn some lessons.

“Today it is a matter of great assurance for us,” senior BJP leader and Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on the Supreme Court judgement, adding that it is regrettable and unfortunate that the then serving IPS officer was allowing his office to be manipulated for pure partisan act of Congress party.

“We have been saying for years, how Congress party wanted to exploit some NGO, including manipulation of a section of the media, against Gujarat and Narendra Modi. Our apprehension has been upheld by the Supreme Court, which has cleared the air about this. We condemn all this as the truth has finally come out,” he said.

Prasad added that Congress party has lost the elections repeatedly and they are going to lose in Bihar also. “But may be, the time has come that Congress party will learn some lessons,” he said.

“What is truly remarkable is the Supreme Court in its judgement has confirmed with positive evidence all the apprehensions we had for last so many years. Namely, there is a group, patronised by Congress party, of NGO’s of selected bureaucrats, civil servants and police officers who are doing their bidding to defame the Gujarat government and Narendra Modi and Amit Shah,” he said.

Speaking about former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, he said, he was in close association with Congress party and was e-mailing it about the proceedings before Nanawati Commission.

“He was trying to manipulate a section of the media for his own extraneous purposes and what not, including colluding with the NGO of Teesta Setalvad. This is regrettable. This is unfortunate,” Prasad said.

On Congress’s contention that neither it nor any NGO is part of the petition before the Supreme Court, Prasad said there is a proper judgement of the Supreme Court that said Sanjiv Bhatt was sending his emails to Congress leaders.

“There is a clear finding. A serving police officer was exchanging emails with the Congress party. Is it not a fact that he was also conveying his misgivings to the Congress party that their lawyer did not ask proper questions in the Nanawati Commission. Is it not a fact that his wife contested as a Congress candidate. All this is at large,” he said.

Sacked Gujarat cadre IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was rebuked for his conduct of contacting opposition Congress party, NGOs and their activists to influence the Supreme Court which yesterday said he has not come up with “clean hands” to question the lodging of criminal cases against him.

The apex court dismissed his petitions seeking a court-monitored SIT probe in relation to the two FIRs against him for allegedly forcing his subordinate to file an affidavit in a 2002 riots case and hacking e-mail of a senior law officer, who is now an Additional Solicitor General.

PTI