In the wake of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's criticism of the absence of Gujarat natives in the armed forces, defence experts on Thursday lashed out at him for indulging in 'gutter politics'.
"Akhilesh Yadav is looking to earn brownie points wherever possible. Martyrdom has nothing to do with religion. The Indian Army functions for the people of India and not individual political parties," defence expert Amrit Kapoor told ANI.
"It is surprising that a student from an Army school can make such statements," he added.
Alleging Akhilesh of making 'political statements' of this kind based on political vendetta, defence expert Ranjit Rai asserted that the comment was in the wake of Akhilesh's defeat in the recently concluded Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
"It was a political statement made post the Samajwadi Party's defeat in the Uttar Pradesh elections. Although it is true that Gujaratis, like Sindhis and Marwadis, do not join the Armed Forces in large numbers, such a statement should not have been made," he said.
A day before, Akhilesh Yadav, while indirectly criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asked why it was that soldiers from all parts of the country were sacrificing their lives, except for those hailing from Gujarat.
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