Jammu: As Bharat Jodo Yatra begins its last leg in Jammu and Kashmir, Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Monday questioned the government over the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and asked the Centre why it had not given any proof of the 'surgical strikes' against Pakistan. He was speaking in Jammu where he joined Rahul Gandhi on his Yatra.
"They (Centre) talk about surgical strikes and that they have killed so many of them but there is no proof," said the Congress leader in his address in Jammu. "The Centre is ruling with the help of lies. I want to tell you that this country belongs to all of us," added the Madhya Pradesh former chief minister. Singh also targeted PM Modi over the Pulwama terror attack in which over 40 CRPF personnel were killed. The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said that 2019 terror attack could have been averted had the vehicle, which launched the attack on the CRPF been checked properly.
"Why did they die? CRPF director had sought for airlifting of CRPF personnel from Srinagar to Delhi as the area was a sensitive one but PM Modi declined the request. Why did he decline?" Singh questioned. Alleging that Pulwama has become the centre of terrorism, he said, "Every car is checked in the area. Why on that particular day was the Scorpio car not checked? A vehicle comes from the wrong direction. Why it was not checked? The vehicle was checked and soon it collided with the CRPF van and 40 of our CRPF were killed. "Until now, the information related to the incident had not been given in the Parliament, nor are the people aware of it," Singh said.
Later in the day, the Congress distanced itself from Digvijaya's remarks saying the views do not reflect the position of the party which supports all military actions that are in national interest. "The views expressed by senior leader Digvijaya Singh are his own and do not reflect the position of Congress. Surgical strikes were carried out before 2014 by UPA government. Congress has supported and will continue to support all military actions that are in the national interest," AICC general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter.
On February 14, 2019, a CRPF convoy was attacked by militants in Kashmir's Pulwama, in which 44 Indian jawans lost their lives. Striking back, on February 26, 2019, Indian Air Force fighter jets targeted Jaish-e-Mohammed's advanced training camp in Pakistan's Balakot. Digvijaya later tweeted a video, asking how did the terrorists get their hands on 300 kg RDX and also raised questions on the friendly relations between PM Modi and Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif.
Singh also questioned why terrorism was alive in Jammu and Kashmir despite the abrogation of Article 370. He said the recent terror attacks including the one at Dhangri village in Rajouri district are worrisome. The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister made the remarks after visiting terror attack victims at the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu.
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He was accompanied by senior party leader Jairam Ramesh and J&K Pradesh Congress Committee chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma. "We condemn the terror attacks in Dhangri in Rajouri and Narwal in Jammu. The situation in J&K is not what is being propagated after the abrogation of Article 370. Targeted and selective killings and bomb blasts have started once again," Singh told reporters.
"We do not want any political mileage out of these worrisome incidents but we cannot ignore one thing that terrorism is still alive in J&K even after the abrogation of Article 370," he said. The Congress leader said divisive politics is neither good for Muslims nor Hindus. "This country belongs to all of us and we all need to work together for the country. The Kashmir and Jammu (divisions) are both part of India and they should be treated equally and the policies be framed keeping in mind the problems of the region."
Meanwhile, BJP launched a sharp attack on the Congress and Digvijaya Singh, saying that such comments show that the Rahul Gandhi-led foot march across the country is Bharat Jodo Yatra only in name while he and his party colleagues are working to "break" the country. It is essentially "Bharat todo yatra", BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said.
He said, "India will not tolerate if they speak against armed forces. Rahul Gandhi and the Congress hate PM Modi but it seems they have been blinded by the hate to an extent that their dedication to the country has withered away." He said Congress leaders had raised questions about the surgical strikes soon after the Indian Air Force said it hit terror camps in Balakot in Pakistan in retaliation to the Pulwama terror attack.
"Gandhi and the Congress do not have trust in our brave armed forces. They repeatedly raise questions and insult the citizens of India and our armed forces," Bhatia claimed. He added that Congress leaders had tried to deflect attention from Pakistan after the terror attack as well. Randeep Singh Surjewala had then blamed "home-grown terrorism", he claimed, alleging that the opposition party tried to give a clean chit to Pakistan.
