NEW DELHI: Leaders of 21 Opposition parties supported the armed forces and the government in the fight against terrorism, but at the same time lashed out against the “blatant politicisation” of the sacrifices made by the soldiers.
Speaking after a meeting of Opposition parties, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said, “The meeting of 21 parties expressed their deep anguish over the blatant politicisation of the sacrifices made by our Armed Forces by leaders of the ruling party. National security must transcend narrow political considerations.”
The Opposition is also peeved at not being consulted over the developments taking vis-à-vis Pakistan. “The Prime Minister has, regrettably, not convened an-all party meeting as per the established practice in our democracy,” Rahul said.
The opposition leaders lauded the action taken by the IAF against the terrorist camp across the LoC on Tuesday, but expressed concern over the emerging security situation. Condemning the Pakistani misadventure, they expressed concern for the safety of the IAF pilot reportedly taken captive.
They urged the government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India’s sovereignty, unity and integrity.
The BJP, however, dismissed the charge of politicising the sacrifice of the armed forces, with Union ministers Prakash Javadekar and Arun Jaitley claiming the Opposition’s joint statement was bolstering the case of Pakistan.
Dismissing the allegation as “baseless”, Javadekar said the Opposition joint statement was being used by the Pakistani media to project that Indian parties were not united in the fight against terror. Appealing to the non-NDA parties to introspect, Jaitley said, “Let the country speak in one voice.”