The Congress on Saturday slammed Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for criticising the CBI for its probe into the 2005 killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, saying he was attacking the Supreme Court by doing so.
Congress general secretary B K Hariprasad said Modi has no right to criticise the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as the probe into Sheikh's killing was held under the supervision of the Supreme Court.
"By attacking CBI, the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is attacking the apex court. The CBI investigation is being monitored by the Supreme Court. And Modi is speaking against the Supreme Court," Hariprasad said.
Modi, before announcing the resignation of Gujarat Minister of State for Home Amit Shah's on Saturday, accused the Congress of "misusing" the CBI to "fabricate allegations" against his minister and also "conspiring" to hamper the development of Gujarat.
Shah is alleged to be involved in Sheikh's killing and has been summoned by the CBI.
Reacting to Modi's remark that the Congress has made Sheikh a national hero and tried to use this issue for the 2007 assembly elections, Hariprasad said "the Congress is not a party of sadists". He also called Modi a "champion" of dividing people.
{{/usCountry}}Reacting to Modi's remark that the Congress has made Sheikh a national hero and tried to use this issue for the 2007 assembly elections, Hariprasad said "the Congress is not a party of sadists". He also called Modi a "champion" of dividing people.
{{/usCountry}}"It is the Bharatiya Janata Party who divide the people for electoral purposes. Modi is a champion of dividing people for electoral purposes," Hariprasad, who is also the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge general secretary of Gujarat, said.
He added that the "law will take its own course."
The Congress also asked Shah to surrender before the CBI.
"He (Shah) needs to submit to the process of justice. He must set an example by surrendering," Congress spokesman Manish Tewari told a television channel.
Sheikh was killed in an alleged gunfight with the police Nov 26, 2005 and police accused him of being a Lashkar-e-Taiba activist. They claimed he had come to Ahmedabad to target senior political leaders. His wife Kausar Bi went missing later.
The dead man's family alleged that Sheikh and his wife were abducted from a bus and then killed in cold blood near Ahmedabad.