New Delhi, Dec 19: Unfazed by the controversy triggered by his remarks on the killing of former ATS chief Hemant Karkare, Minority Affairs Minister A R Antulay on Friday said that he stuck to his stand and that both government and Congress should feel "proud" of his comments.
"I always stand by the truth," said Antulay, who has sent his resignation to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in the wake of the uproar after he raised questions on Karkare's killing.
Asked whether he stood by what he had said two days back, he replied in the affirmative. He had said, "Whether Karkare was a victim of terrorism or terrorism plus something, I do not know..."
"I said a man like Karkare is born among millions... Who pushed him in the trap of death? Who sent him there to be killed by the Pakistanis?" was Antulay's refrain.
Arguing that Congress had no reason to be embarrassed by whatever he had said, Antulay said, "Both the government and the party should feel proud."
Antulay resigned from the Union Cabinet today. Congress Core Committee is slated to decide his fate at a meeting in Delhi later in the evening.
79-year-old Antulay, whose remarks created uproar in Parliament and outside with the Opposition parties demanding his removal, sent his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday night itself, sources said.
However, Antulay declined to comment, saying "I am neither confirming it nor denying it".
Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament, Antulay appeared a bit mellowed down yet unfazed by the flak he has been facing. He however, refused to apologise for his remarks by retreating that he has done no wrong by voicing the questions being posed by many people.
“I voiced what a lot of people were thinking and have not embarrassed my party in any way,” quipped Antulay.
On questions whether he was being forced to resign he said, “I am not under pressure. No one from the congress asked me to resign.”
He further claimed that he is a disciplined worker of the party and will do whatever the party asks him to do.
His resignation was expected as he had been defiant over his stand and said that he had not met neither the PM nor Sonia Gandhi and even retorted that he owed explanation to none.
The open defiance by a senior member of the Cabinet has turned out to be a major embarrassment for the government when it is going all out to tackle terror.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha yesterday that government will respond to the Antulay remarks in this session itself.
Congress had earlier steered itself clear from the controversy by claiming that the remarks are Antulay’s personal opinion and neither the party nor the government subscribes to them.
Even Maharashtra’s newly appointed Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has gone on record to rebut any possibility of foul play in Hemant Karkare’s death and made it clear that there would be no probe into this matter.
The whole controversy erupted with Antulay, while taking to reporters outside Parliament, suspecting the truth behind Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad chief Hemant Karkare’s killing during the Mumbai attacks.
His divisive statement on such a sensitive issue sent ripples across the nation, with the Opposition seeking a clarification from none other than the Prime Minister itself.
Antualy had on Wednesday said, “There is more than what meets the eyes. Karkare was investigating some cases in which there are non-Muslims also,” an apparent reference to the Malegaon blasts case in which sadhvi Pragya Thakur and a Lt Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit were 11 persons to be arrested.
"Superficially speaking, they (terrorists) had no reason to kill Karkare. Whether he (Karkare) was a victim of terrorism or terrorism plus something, I do not know," he added.
First Published: Friday, December 19, 2008, 00:00