Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal today steered clear of the controversy involving Law Minister Salman Khurshid and the Election Commission,saying the two must have had their reasons for their stance even as he asked the poll body to also take note of the alleged misuse of bureaucracy by the BSP government. On being asked about EC's move seeking President Pratibha Patil's intervention after it charged Khurshid with "improper and unlawful" defiance of its orders,Sibal said,"If someone has made a statement,there must be reason for it and the EC must have its reasons too. "The individuals concerned will reply on the matter; I will neither reply nor will give my opinion on it." On the varied comments from Congress leaders on Batla House encounter,Sibal said the Home Minister has already taken a stand on the matter and this should be considered as the last word. Home Minister P Chidambaram has maintained that the 2008 gun fight between security forces and terrorists in Delhi was indeed genuine and there was no scope for reopening the case. The HRD Minister also refused to comment on Union minister Beni Prasad Verma's reference to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's age and said media should raise the issue of development in UP rather than such issues. Speaking to media persons at the residence of Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal,Sibal said the poll body should also direct its attention to the several instances of "misuse of bureaucracy" by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government.
