NEW DELHI: The BJP on Thursday rejected the Congress’s allegation of politicising the surgical strikes against terror camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir and lashed out at the Opposition party for doubting the courage and commitment of the armed forces.
The ruling party was responding to the charges that the government was using the armed forces for political gains following airing of video footages of the September 2016 surgical strikes.
Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said if the BJP wanted to draw political mileage or seek votes in the name of surgical strikes, then the video would have been released during elections in states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat or Karnataka. The Congress party’s remarks would only gladden the hearts of terrorists and their sponsor across the border, he added.
Referring to recent comments by senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad that more civilians were getting killed than terrorists in Kashmir, the minister taunted that the LeT had approved of Azad’s comment and the Congress would get soon a similar certificate.
Prasad said the Congress was getting so desperate after its repeated electoral losses that it was questioning the commitment of the armed forces. “It is boosting the morale of terrorists and breaking the morale of our forces. What extent the Congress will stoop to for votes?” he asked.
Pointing out that Congress president Rahul Gandhi had, soon after the surgical strike, referred to it as “khoon ki dalali”, Prasad asked the party to clarify if it believed the videos were fake.
The minister was reacting to the comments of Congress leaders suggesting that the release of surgical strike videos was aimed at soaring up Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image. “Let the ruling dispensation remember that the blood and sacrifice of our brave soldiers cannot become a political vote garnering tool for the Modi Government and the BJP,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala alleged.
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