Prime Minister Narendra Modi scathingly criticised opposition parties at a rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar on Tuesday stating that the airstrike that happened in Pakistan has left some people in India traumatised.
The PM particularly slammed Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who had earlier today termed the 14 February Pulwama terror attack an “accident”.
“A leader from Madhya Pradesh said today that the Pulwama terror attack was an accident. This is their mentality. To save the terrorists they are now calling it an accident,” PM Modi said without naming Singh.
“This is the general of the dynasty in whose eyes promoters of terrorism are ambassadors of peace. This is the same gentleman who saw Osama as a peace ambassador and tried to give a clean chit to Pakistan in the 26/11 terror attack,” the PM added.
Singh, a former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, has in the past been in the eye of controversies for his remarks questioning Osama’s burial, addressing the Al Qaeda chief as “Osama-ji”, and alleging an RSS hand in the Mumbai terror attacks.
Addressing the massive gathering of BJP supporters, the PM continued his criticism of opposition parties, especially the Congress, for questioning the IAF airstrike on a major Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) training camp in Pakistan’s Balakot.
“The party that ruled the country for a long time and whose leaders kept the hands of our jawans tied are now questioning the capability of our brave soldiers,” he said.
“Can we expect the Congress to end terrorist leaders? No. Terrorism never got the jaw-breaking response due to the soft approach of Congress against terrorism,” he added.
The PM, who has previously accused the opposition of trying to belittle the sacrifices of the soldiers, said that while the entire world has extended its support to India’s action against terrorists in Pakistan, “it is our misfortune that we have among us some people who disagree”.
“For their own selfish political interest, they have joined hands with Pakistan,” the PM alleged.
The PM said that the opposition parties are trying to weaken India’s resolve in its fight against terrorism by asking for proof of the attack, numbers of terrorists killed and hailing Pakistan as a peace-loving nation.
Singh landed in a controversy earlier today when he termed the Pulwama terror attack “accident” in a tweet posted in Hindi. Citing foreign media reports, Singh also raised a finger at the government.
Calling a terrorist attack an ‘accident’ should NOT be the political discourse in our country. @digvijaya_28 ji, would you call Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination an accident?
Don’t weaken the nation & the morale of our armed forces with these senseless jibes. https://t.co/bxhty0ES10
— Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) March 5, 2019
MoS External Affairs and former Army chief General VK Singh was among the first to criticise the senior Congress leader for the “accident” remark.
“Calling a terrorist attack an ‘accident’ should NOT be the political discourse in our country. @digvijaya_28 ji, would you call Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination an accident? Don’t weaken the nation & the morale of our armed forces with these senseless jibes,” tweeted the former Army chief.
The Opposition, especially the Congress, has been raising questions on the airstrike that was carried out on 26 February by the IAF. The parties have been pressing the government on the exact number of terrorists killed in the strike.
While some BJP leaders, including Amit Shah, claimed that the strike killed 250-300 terrorists, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa said on Monday that the IAF does not calculate the number of the dead.
Briefing the media in Coimbatore, the air chief said Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale has in his statement clearly amplified the target.
“The target has been clearly amplified by the Foreign Secretary in his statement. If we plan to hit the target, we hit the target, otherwise why would he (Pak PM) have responded, if we dropped bombs in the jungles why would he respond,” he said.
Read More: Air chief confirms hitting targets at Balakot, says IAF doesn’t count number of dead
“We hit our target. The air force doesn’t calculate casualty numbers, the government does that,” he said.