BJP seeks probe in change of affidavits by UPA in Ishrat case

New Delhi: Seeking to turn the heat on Congress, BJP on Sunday demanded a thorough probe into the alleged change of affidavits during the UPA rule in the Ishrat Jehan case and charged former Home Minister P Chidambaram with saving the accused.

BJP also accused Congress of siding with "anti-national" forces "who are out to break the nation" and asked its leaders Rahul Gandhi and P Chidambaram whether they had any sympathy for the country that gave them everything.

"Former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram is caught in a separate (issue), what I believe is going to be a scandal. As the former Home Secretary has revealed, Ishrat Jehan's name and connection with LeT were deliberately removed from the government report.

"On behalf of the party, I hope and wish there is a formal inquiry which fully establishes the truth. I feel there should be a thorough probe as to what really had happened and the truth should come out," BJP spokesperson M J Akbar told reporters.

Training his guns on Chidambaram, he charged him with "saving" the terrorists, and said, he was trying to "save" Afzal Guru, Parliament attack convict already hanged, even today.

He alleged that the Minister was trying to save an accused by changing his own government's report and "there is a lot of anger in the country".

"What game are you playing? What fire are you playing with? Are you not with the country that gave you everything? Don't you have any sympathy with the country that gave you everything, the country of which you have remained Home Minister and Finance Minister?" he asked while referring to former Home Secretary G K Pillai's remarks.

Attacking the Congress vice president, he said, "Rahul Gandhi, you have no sympathy with the country of which you want to become a leader one day. You are seen moving shoulder to shoulder with those who want to break the country and are anti-national."

Questioned about the timing of Pillai's remarks on Ishrat case and if he was siding with BJP, Akbar said "Pillai is not supporting us, he is only supporting the truth. As a Home Secretary, he was in the know of everything and an eyewitness. He said the LeT connection of Ishrat was removed from the affidavit."

On Pillai's decision to speak out now, the BJP leader said "The point is, nobody knew what he knew. This is a decision that Mr Pillai made for himself. We can't control why and how he chose to do so. The fact of the matter is why are we being deflected from the reality."

He said "The point is, what he (Pillai) is saying, is it a truth or not."

Pillai had said the decision to change the affidavit was taken at the "political level".