Congress, BJP face-off on first anniversary of Pulwama attack
War of words broke out between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress on the first anniversary of Pulwama attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed last year.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi opened the attack by posing three questions to the BJP-led central government as he paid homage to Pulwama martyrs. “Today as we remember our 40 CRPF martyrs in the #PulwamaAttack , let us ask: 1. Who benefitted the most from the attack? 2. What is the outcome of the inquiry into the attack? 3. Who in the BJP Govt has yet been held accountable for the security lapses that allowed the attack?” he said on Twitter.
The ruling party’s stinging response came almost immediately after Gandhi’s controversial tweet. “Shame on you,” said BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao. “When nation is paying homage to martyrs of dastardly Pulwama attack, @RahulGandhi, a known sympathizer of LeT & Jaish-e-Mohammad, chooses to target not just the government but security forces as well. Rahul will never question real culprit, Pakistan...,” Rao said on Twitter.
At a press conference hours later, Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill accused the BJP government of being is silent about the big intelligence failure and security lapse that led to the attack. “BJP is the first to claim credit for national security but when there is a national security and intelligence failure, BJP remains mum. We have been posing questions to the BJP for the past one year in national interest,” he said.
“This is an insult to martyrs who sacrificed their life for the country. Congress has done this in past as well and people taught them a lesson for this blunder. Such remarks by Rahul Gandhi help Pakistan counter India on international platforms,” said BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor demanded that the results of the Pulwama attack investigation be made public, “Why has the report of the Pulwama attack not been made public?” he tweeted. On its official handle, the Congress said that the government has completely forgotten about the Pulwama martyrs’ families. “After the election speeches and photo-ops, the BJP govt has completely forgotten about the families of the martyrs,” the Congress said on Twitter.
Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi called Congress a “history-sheeter” party. “Congress is a history-sheeter party who always politicised issues related to national and security issues. They are questioning India’s surgical and Balakot strikes on Pakistan to wipe out terrorists,” Naqvi told news agency ANI. He also said that Congress “speaks the language of Pakistan.”
On February 14, 2019, 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed when a jeep laden with explosives hit a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel on the Jammu-Srinagar highway at Lethpora in Pulwama. The jeep was driven by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists.
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