Amar Singh targets Congress, attacks Shivraj Patil

NEW DELHI: Launching a scathing attack on Congress-led UPA government, Samajwadi Party on Saturday "suggested" Home Minister Shivraj Patil should step down on moral grounds till a judicial inquiry into the Batla House encounter gives a clean chit to police.

"There have been examples in the past whenever Congress has been in power that ministers have resigned taking moral responsibility. Since SP is supporting the UPA government, I would suggest Shivraj Patil to step down on moral grounds till a judicial inquiry is conducted in Batla House encounter case," SP general secretary Amar Singh said.

If the probe proves that those arrested soon after the encounter are innocent, "then we will have to rethink about our support to the government", he said.

Two suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorists were killed on September 19 during the encounter in which one police official also died.

The SP had decided to support the UPA government due to the pressure of the minority communities, "as at that time the main priority was to keep communal forces led by Advani at bay", Singh said.

"Though the nuclear deal is sponsored by US, a nation known for its anti-Muslim stance, we took the support of the Ulemas on it as our stand was that the deal would give us energy and power. But despite all our support, Congress took our four MLAs in Madhya Pradesh into its fold," Singh lamented.

Even though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi had shown SP a lot of love and respect, the UPA government "has not fulfilled a single request we had made to them on political as well as economic issues", he said.