NEW DELHI: While defending the Army Chief Bipin Rawat's statement on tough action against locals hampering counter-militancy operations in the Kashmir valley, the BJP on Friday slammed the Congress for politicising the issue. The Union Minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Jeetendra Singh accused the Congress of speaking the language of the separatists in the Kashmir valley.
“The Army Chief has not warned the people but expressed concerns over civilians' safety in the Kashmir valley. But it’s appalling that the Congress is falling to this temptation of politicising the Army Chief's statement. It seems that the Congress can go to any extent for political benefits and appears speaking the voice of separatists for lowly political gains,” said Singh, while speaking to reporters at the BJP headquarter.
In the context of remarks of the Congress leaders -- Ghulam Nabi Azad and Sandeep Diskhit – on the statement of the Army chief, Singh stated said “these were quite unbecoming of a national party”. He sought to know from the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi if such statements were the party’s official view points.
"What the Army chief has said is not a warning but an expression of concern. He is worried and hence has cautioned the people to take precautions not to come in the line of fire at times of anti-terrorist operations in the valley,” the minister said.
Singh also alleged that the National Conference after losing power is now speaking the language of separatists. “The NC as well as the Congress have adopted the jargons of the separatists,” Singh alleged. He added that Kashmiri youths had begun realising of being misled by separatists. “They now want to be part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's developmental agenda,” Singh said.
Meanwhile, the minister claimed that none of the accused arrested in Madhya Pradesh for allegedly being part of a Pakistan-run espionage racket had ever been members of the BJP. Responding to the Congress releasing photographs of some accused in the company of BJP leaders, Singh said: “Such pictures do not have an evidentiary value. Photographs showing Congress leaders with BJP's will not make them its members. The BJP state unit has already issued a clarification.”
Incidentally, 11 people were arrested from different places of Madhya Pradesh on February 9 for being part of an alleged espionage racket being run from Pakistan to collect strategic information on important Indian establishments.