(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) Amidst the ongoing Lok Sabha elections 2024 several congress leaders have hit the headlines for insinuating that the Narendra-Modi led government was behind the 2019 Pulwama attack that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel.
In a recent controversial statement that has stirred up anger on social media, Mahender Pratap Singh, a Congress candidate from Faridabad, Haryana, implicated the Indian government for the attack.
Singh also referenced former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik, who raised questions regarding the BJP's involvement in the tragedy.
"Pulwama is in front of everyone. Pulwama opened in front of the entire country. Their Governor (Satya Pal Malik) revealed the truth. The Governor of Kashmir telephoned PM Modi and requested him to airlift them (CRPF personnel). PM said this is not your job, you continue doing your work. And that game happened. There is no other proof after this revelation. If we still don't believe that, then God is the master," Mahender Pratap Singh was heard saying during an election rally.
Also read:
'Congress ka haath Pakistan ke saath': Row after party's Punjab chief calls Pulwama attack 'mystery' (WATCH)
The Pulwama attack, which occurred on February 14, 2019, stands as one of the darkest chapters in recent Indian history. It was a despicable act of terrorism orchestrated by Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad, aiming to destabilize the region and undermine India's sovereignty. In response to the attack, Indian Air Force jets conducted airstrikes on JeM terrorist camps in Balakot,
located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on February 26.
It's worth nothing that
in October 2020, Pakistan's then Science & Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry
admitted that Islamabad was responsible for the deadly terrorist attack that
brought the two countries to the brink of a war.
In 2023, Satya Pal Malik
accused PM Modi of asking him to keep quiet about the Union Home Minister's denial of aircraft to ferry the CRPF personnel in Pulwama in 2019.
He had then argued that“such a big convoy never goes by road” and the tragedy could have been avoided had the ministry headed by top BJP leader Rajnath Singh agreed to provide the aircraft.
“I told it to the prime minister in the evening (of February 14, 2019) that this has happened due to our fault. Had we given the aircraft, this wouldn't have happened. To which he told me that I should keep quiet now,” Malik had told The Wire, adding that NSA Ajit Doval had also said this to him.
Earlier this year, Satya Pal Malik's residence was raided by central agencies following which the former J&K Governor termed PM Modi as a 'dictator'. He added, "The dictator is trying to scare me by misusing government agencies. I am a farmer's son; I won't be scared and bow down.”
Mahender Pratap Singh's
remarks come in the wake of similar controversial statements made by other Congress leaders, including former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi,
Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar and
Punjab unit president
Amarinder Singh Raja Warring.
Also read:
'Congress defends Pak terrorist Kasab': Outrage over Wadettiwar's RSS-linked cop killed Karkare claim (WATCH)
On Saturday, Wadettiwar alleged that former chief of Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Hemant Karkare, was not killed by Pakistani terrorists during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 and was instead
shot by a police official allegedly affiliated to RSS.
Channi ignited a political storm after calling Sunday's Poonch terror attack in which an IAF soldier was killed 'stuntbaazi' meant to make the BJP win the Lok Sabha elections.
Two days later, Raja Warring referred to the Pulwama attack as a 'mystery' and insinuated that the BJP 'resorts to any means during elections'.
In the wake of these comments by several Congress leaders a massive social media backlash has erupted, with several BJP leaders and netizens stating that the grand old party is an 'embarrassment' to the nation.
BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya wrote on X, "After Charanjit Singh Channi, Mahendra Pratap Singh, Congress candidate from Faridabad, questions attack on our soldiers in Pulwama. The Congress continues to belittle martyrdom of our men in uniform and give Pakistan a free pass. This, when Pakistan Minister Fawad Chaudhry has owned up the terror strike, in Pakistan Parliament."
"Congress candidate Mahender Pratap Singh from Faridabad openly stated that the Pulwama attack wasn't done by Pakistan, but rather the Indian Govt was behind it. The Cong party is an embarrassment to the nation," said BJP national spokesperson Tuhin A Sinha on X.
"India lost 40 brave soldiers in the Pulwama attack, and the whole nation was in anger. Today, Congress is shamelessly giving clean chit to Pakistan," said Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, BJP state-vice president, Andhra Pradesh.
Another user on X remarked, "Pakistan itself has accepted their role in Pulwama and yet these naughties keep giving them clean chit. This party is full of traitors."
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