SIMI encounter: BJP dubs Pakistan High Commission 'ISI's den', slams Congress for insulting security forces

New Delhi: The BJP on Tuesday called the Pakistan High Commission here “a den of ISI” after the recent arrest of its staffer in an espionage case, while hitting out at the Congress and other opposition parties for demoralising security forces by raising doubts over the killing of eight SIMI activists, who had escaped from a Bhopal jail, in a gunfight with police. “It is not just a diplomatic centre but it is being used to send (India-related) information to Pakistan. The recent reports have confirmed it. The high commission has become ISI’s ‘adda’ (den),” said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) General Secretary Shrikant Sharma at a press conference here. Sharma blamed Congress for communalising the Bhopal jailbreak and gunfight issue in order to earn political mileage. “Congress has always questioned the security forces when it came to killing of terrorists, be it 2008 Mumbai attack or Batla House encounter. On one hand, security personnel are putting their lives in danger (to eliminate terrorists), on other hand, our Italy Congress is busy demoralising them to keep its Muslim vote bank intact. By doing such kind of politics, it is actually insulting Muslims of the country,” he alleged. [caption id=“attachment_3083248” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Image courtesy: News18[/caption] The Madhya Pradesh Police and its Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) gunned down eight Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) undertrials after they broke out of Bhopal jail early on Monday morning. However, Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Left parties raised serious questions pointing at the possibility of a staged gunfight. Sharma questioned the Congress for “supporting terrorists”. “We do not understand why the Congress supports the terrorists who are indulging in anti-India activities on behest of Pakistan. They (killed SIMI members) were supporters of Osama Bin Laden and working as sleeper cells. I want to ask Rahul Gandhi, Vice President of Italy Congress, why they have sympathy for the terrorists and questions for security personnel,” Sharma said, claiming that Congress was mum on the death of head constable Ramshankar Yadav, who was killed by the fugitives while escaping from the jail. Sharma also said that Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh had blamed the RSS for the Mumbai terror attack while its “Home Minister sympathised with terrorist Afzal Guru”. He also claimed that Congress cannot compete with BJP on issues of development, “hence it has taken to communal politics, adding it was “nearing its end by indulging into such kind of politics”.