Congress doing votebank politics in encounter cases: BJP

NEW DELHI: BJP on Tuesday charged the Congress with doing vote-bank politics in encounter cases be it in Gujarat or Jammu and Kashmir and appointed a committee headed by party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain to visit the families of policemen killed in recent firings in the border state.

"Congress is looking for votes even in cases of encounters. Digvijay Singh is not mending his ways and want to do politics on this issue as well. Our army personnel are getting killed but Congress is eyeing the votes," Hussain told reporters here.

BJP is apparently stung by the fresh developments in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case. While more officials are likely to be listed in the charge sheet, there are reports that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and then state minister for Home Amit Shah may also be named in the near future.

ADG P P Pandey, whose team was involved in the encounter, has been denied bail by courts. BJP raised the issue of killing of eight soldiers by terrorists when an Indian Army convoy was attacked on June 25 near Hyderpora on the outskirts of Srinagar. A policeman was killed today in Pulwama district in an encounter.

"Congress does not have anything to say about this encounter. The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister is busy on Twitter," Hussain said.

The other members of the committee to be headed by Hussain have not yet been named by party chief Rajnath Singh. Hussain said the committee will meet the family members of those killed in the encounters in Kashmir.