NEW DELHI: Amid simmering tensions between India and Pakistan following the recent Pahalgam terror attack, the BJP on Friday targeted Congress over former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s remarks questioning the veracity of the Balakot airstrike, conducted in response to the 2019 Pulwama terror attack.
Referring to the Pulwama attack, Channi said 40 Indian soldiers were killed, and when elections were held, the BJP-led Centre boasted of action.
"But we have never seen where in Pakistan the strikes were done and where people were killed. If someone threw a bomb in our country, will people not know? They claim to have conducted surgical strikes against Pakistan but nothing had happened. Surgical strikes were not seen anywhere and no one knew about them," the former Punjab chief minister said in a press conference.
Asked if he had sought proof of those strikes, he said, "I have always been demanding that." He, later, backtracked following the BJP's counterattack and said no proof was needed.
Channi's remarks came parallel to a resolution passed by the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Friday, which urged the Narendra Modi-led NDA government to act in the strongest possible ways against Pakistan for its continued export of terror. The CWC also pressed for time-bound accountability into the "serious lapses" in security and intelligence in one of the most heavily-guarded regions of the country.
Irked by Channi's allegations, BJP on Friday accused Congress of supplying "oxygen to the Pakistani Army and terrorists and to boost their morale."
Referring to the CWC as "Pakistan Working Committee," BJP MP Sambit Patra alleged at a press conference, "Congress continues to support Pakistan, its terrorists and its army. Inside it is the Congress Working Committee but outside it acts like the Pakistan Working Committee.”
Further attacking Congress over Channi’s remarks, Patra accused the party of supplying "oxygen" to the Pakistani army and terrorists and boosting their morale. Patra said it had become a pattern with the Congress that its resolutions speak in one voice, while several of its leaders speak in another.
He lashed out at the Congress leadership, alleging that the remark by its leader that no surgical strike took place at the time of Pulwama would lower the morale of the Indian Army and Air Force.
Patra also alleged that the Congress "was filled with pro-Pakistan leaders" who made statements "contrary to India’s interests." He also mocked the party for its internal letter, advising functionaries to follow the official line on the issue.
The BJP leader also pointed out that opposition leaders such as Akhilesh Yadav and parties like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had been cited by a Pakistani senator for questioning the Modi government's stance. He alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi now appeared "eager" to join them in "earning praise from the neighbouring country."
Patra also referred to several other Congress leaders, including those who had questioned the security lapses during the Pahalgam terror attack. He named Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Maharashtra MLA Vijay Wadettiwar, Himachal Pradesh minister Inder Singh, and Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law, Robert Vadra, for allegedly raising issues concerning the terror incident, which resulted in the deaths of 25 tourists and a local Kashmiri.
Patra alleged that these leaders had questioned the necessity of war and queried whether the terrorists had religiously profiled their victims, which, according to him, "cast doubt on the sincerity" of the Congress’s official position.
“It is more than a coincidence and is in fact a pattern,” Patra alleged.
He further alleged that once Congress leaders are informed of the government's plans, they try to outdo one another in conveying the message to Pakistan.
In this context, Patra also referred to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s repeated attacks on Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi over the latter’s alleged visit to Pakistan. Patra noted that Sarma had also alleged Gogoi’s children were not Indian citizens.
