Digvijay shown black flags over his flip-flop on Batla encounter.

New Delhi: It was a reception no politician would like to have. But senior Congress leader and AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh couldn’t have avoided this. Black flags and slogans welcomed him, the moment he entered Center for Information Technology conference hall to address a gathering on the issue of “The Politics of Terrorism and Suspicion: Two Years since the Batla House ‘Encounter” organized by Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association on Tuesday at Jamia Millia Islamia.
Before Mr. Singh’s arrival could have been announced by the organizers, protests and slogans received him. The protesters were taking slogans like “Digvijay hi, hi”, “Digvijay Murdabad” and “Vapas jao, vapas jao, Digvijay vapas jao”.

They were showing their anger, first of all, at the alleged flip-flop by Mr. Singh over Batla House ‘encounter’ which happened on September 19, 2008. Reportedly he had doubted the genuineness of the ‘encounter’ when he had visited Sanjarpur in Azamgarh in February this year, the place Atif and Sajid belonged to (the duo was killed in that ‘encounter’).

He had also dropped the hint that the ‘encounter’ might be fake. Many media reports had quoted him saying "there were five bullets on top of his head. How can you get bullets on top of the head in an encounter?”
His visit was in the context of branding of Azamgarh as factory of terrorists. His visit to Azamgarh and subsequent defense for its contribution in the Indian freedom struggle and in the larger secular ethos of India, had created a hope among a section of Muslims. Many considered it as ‘healing touch’ of the Congress party towards the Muslims of Azamgarh. But it was youth essentially- a class which gets targeted by the investigative agencies on the name of terrorism- which had got hopes that something will be done about the ‘encounter’ at least in terms of a judicial enquiry.
But what disappointed Muslims and social activists, was his subsequent denial of his statements about the ‘encounter.’



The protests was also an expression of the frustration felt by the Muslim youth at the fact that apparently they cannot do anything about the injustice being done to them. What is most depressing for them is that even the political class which pretends to stand for their causes ends up being completely ineffective.
Mr. Singh later pointed out that he was expecting this kind of ‘welcome’ but he preferred this to staying away from the community. In his defense he invoked his ‘limitations’ and ‘compulsions’ in the political establishment of which he is directly or indirectly a part.



Mr. Singh rejected the idea that the Congress is using him as a tool to placate Muslims’ anger before elections.
Source:TwoCircle.net)