Expressing strong objection to Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa’s remark that the IAF strikes will help BJP win 22 of 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state, Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh on Thursday sought to differ from the former’s statement.
“@BSYBJP ji, I beg to differ. We stand as one nation, action taken by our government is to safeguard our nation & ensure safety of our citizens, not to win a few extra seats,” VK Singh tweeted.
@Gen_VKSingh)
On a day when the opposition collectively flayed the ruling BJP for “blatant politicisation” of the armed forces’ sacrifices, Yeddyurappa said the IAF strikes on terror camps in Pakistan has created a wave in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will help the party win over 22 of 28 seats in the state in the coming Lok Sabha polls.
“The atmosphere….day by day the wind is increasingly blowing in favour of BJP. Yesterday’s action of destroying terror hideouts by entering inside Pakistan has resulted in a pro-Modi wave in the country, the results of which can be seen in coming Lok Sabha polls,” Yeddyurappa said.
The state BJP chief’s remarks come a day after India carried out “non-military pre-emptive” airstrikes targeting the JeM training camp in Balakot in Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a “very large number” of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders.
Union Minister Arun Jaitley had earlier slammed the Opposition for claiming that the BJP government was politicising the situation.
The Opposition had hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not convening an all-party meeting.
At the meeting, the parties attacked Modi and BJP President Amit Shah for “using” the IAF action to build a narrative for the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
After the air strike in Pakistan, Modi told a rally in Rajasthan that India was in safe hands while Shah declared Modi was the “only world leader” with strong determination and zero-tolerance policy against terrorism.