After Telangana Chief Minister Revnath Reddy raised new questions about the Pulwama terror attack in 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party today slammed the Congress, claiming that the Congress party is questioning the “bravery” of the military and putting India in jeopardy on the issue of terrorism by giving Pakistan a “clean chit.”
Shehzad Poonawalla, BJP national spokesman, stated that the Congress is receiving “support” from Pakistan.
“Now it is apparent that the way the Congress party stands up to Pakistan and terrorists and gives them a pass… Now, Revanth Reddy, the Telangana Chief Minister, is not only defending Pakistan in Pulwama and accusing India, but even questioning the surgical strike…”, he added.
“In their bid to defeat Modi, the Congress party is challenging the military’s gallantry and calling India into question on the subject of terrorism by giving Pakistan a free pass. They provide them with a means of defending themselves against terrorist claims in international venues. This is the true objective of Congress, which is why they are receiving backing from Pakistan,” he continued.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Prakash Reddy stated that the Telangana Chief Minister’s words are against the “national interest.”
“These are foolish utterances that go against the national interest. His statements on the IB, R&AW, and other intelligence agencies demoralize them. When it comes to surgical strikes or Pulwama occurrences, the IB or R&AW cannot be held solely accountable. Even while those agencies are actively working, it does occur…It is unfortunate. It is a reckless remark that undermines intelligence operations. The Congress party has changed its colors several times for the sake of votes, and people are well aware of your political ambitions,” he remarked.
The Telangana Chief Minister blamed the BJP-led NDA at the Centre for ‘failing’ to prevent the Pulwama assault, saying, “For Narendra Modi, everything is political. Everything revolves around winning elections. His kind of thinking does not benefit the country. It is time for the country to get rid of (Narendra) Modi and the BJP. Ask them anything, and they will say ‘Jai Shri Ram’ (glory to Lord Ram). They failed to stop the Pulwama atrocity. What did the IB do? “What was our intelligence network doing?”
Mr Reddy said that PM Modi tried to take political and electoral benefits from the Pulwama assault and the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) retaliatory response, saying, “Modi-ji attempted to extract political and electoral benefits from the airstrikes after the Pulwama event. I want to question him, “What were you doing?” Why did you let this happen? What did you do to improve the country’s internal security? Why did not you seek assistance from the agencies at your disposal, such as the IB and R&AW? It was your failure. Nobody knows for certain whether the airstrike, as stated, occurred. If it had been our obligation to ensure the country’s internal security, we would not have delegated it to anybody.”
Earlier on Friday, Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar was embroiled in another controversy when a video of an old interview surfaced in which he is heard suggesting that Pakistan, as a nuclear-armed country, deserved respect. He also pushed for India’s reengagement with its neighbor.
The Pulwana assault occurred on February 14, 2019, when a suicide bomber slammed an IED-laden car into a CRPF transport.
Days after the incident, on February 26, the Indian Air Force launched airstrikes on a JeM terror stronghold in Pakistan’s Balakot, killing a ‘substantial number’ of terrorists and damaging their infrastructure.
Pakistan’s attempts to launch counter-strikes against Indian military sites in Jammu and Kashmir were foiled by the Indian air force.
On February 26, 2019, IAF jets struck back, targeting an advanced terror training center of Jaish-e-Mohammed at Balakot.
