The Congress leadership has taken strong exception to law minister Salman Khurshid’s remark in Azamgarh on Thursday that party chief Sonia Gandhi had cried on seeing photos of the Batla House encounter. Khurshid sought to clarify his statement on Friday, but the Congress was upset with him for “unnecessary dragging” Gandhi into the controversy.

A section in the party said Gandhi had from time to time spelt out her views on contentious issues and there was no ambiguity in her stand on the Batla encounter.