Army won 1971 war, but Indira Gandhi lost it: BJP MP Radha Mohan Das
BENGALURU: BJP general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Radha Mohan Das Agarwal said the credit for the 1971 war victory should be given to Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw and not to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Speaking to the media in Bengaluru on Thursday, the BJP leader said,”Our armed forces won the 1971 war, but Indira Gandhi lost it during the Simla Agreement with Pakistan in 1972. For five months, 93,000 Pakistani soldiers were treated like sons-in-law, 13,000 sq km of land was returned to Pakistan, and five crore Bangladeshis were not sent back, but India could not even bring back its soldiers who were in Pakistani custody,” the BJP leader said.
“The Army won the war and Indira Gandhi lost it,” he said, responding to a question on many Congress leaders recalling former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s contribution in the 1971 Indo-Pak War to question the Union Government’s decision over the ceasefire.
The BJP leader also hit out at US President Donald Trump and termed his claims on mediating the India-Pakistan ceasefire as “childish”.
“The BJP rejects any offer by Trump to mediate between the two countries,” he said. After the ceasefire, the PM stated that Pakistan’s DGMO approached his counterpart, requesting to stop the war, the BJP leader added.
“Our strategy was not to target the people of Pakistan, and we do not believe in it. From the beginning, our strategy was to punish terrorists and those supporting them, and to send out a message. We have achieved that target,” he said.
The BJP leader said the PM has made it clear that it is only a ceasefire, and if there are any terror attacks, it will be treated as an act of war and responded to.
Agarwal said the Indus Water Treaty was anti-India, as it allowed Pakistan to use 90 per cent of the water. That apart, the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had even given funds to Pakistan for the construction of canals, so that they could use the water, he added.
‘MP MINister sorry, BUT PARTY HASN’T pardoned him’
On the Congress seeking the resignation of Madhya Pradesh minister Kunwar Vijay Shah over his remarks on Col Sofiya Qureshi, BJP general secretary Radha Mohan Das Agarwal said if they have to seek resignations based on statements, everyone in Congress, except Shashi Tharoor and P Chidambaram, will have to resign.
He said Vijay Shah had apologised twice, but the BJP has still not pardoned him. The BJP leader accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of making remarks against the country and Hindus. However, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar does not seem to agree with the CM’s stance, he added.