 "BJP-Cong battle on surgical strikes escalates")
If on Thursday Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “politicising” the surgical strikes on the Line of Control terming it “khoon ki dalali”, on Friday, BJP chief Amit Shah attacked Gandhi for this comment, saying it demoralised the defence forces. Shah said the Indira Gandhi-led Congress had politicised India’s 1971 Bangladesh liberation war victory.
Coming to Rahul Gandhi’s defence, Congress leader Kapil Sibal said people understood the sentiment behind his comment. “We are ready… if they make such statements (against Indira Gandhi) we won’t be found wanting…Shah himself is a convict and talks of patriotism,” said Sibal.
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In response to this, BJP leader and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Central Bureau of Investigation had exonerated Shah and had said the case against him was a “frame-up”. Prasad added that Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were out on bail in a cheating case.
Amid this exchange, the BJP chief spelt out his party’s strategy to take the issue of surgical strikes to the people at large, including in UP. He said the campaign would be to bolster the morale of the defence forces. While the BJP was determined to electorally capitalise on the issue in the upcoming Assembly polls, the Congress’ effort was aimed at stopping its rival in its tracks.
The stakes are the highest in Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress is desperate to revive itself, while the BJP wants to score a handsome victory to consolidate its position in the state ahead of the 2019 national polls.
Both the Congress and BJP leaders believe the issue might also have resonance in other four states going to polls by February — particularly the border state of Punjab, where the Congress is trying hard to wrest power from the Akali-BJP combine after a gap of 10 years, but also in states such as Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. The BJP hopes the nationalistic fervour generated after the Modi government’s strong action against Pakistan-based terrorists would help it win the end-2017 Gujarat polls as well.
Rahul Gandhi tweeted on Friday: “I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country.” The reference was to recent posters that have appeared in UP.
The BJP president said nobody would buy Rahul Gandhi’s clarification and there was widespread anger at his comment. Shah said senior party leaders and ministers have not issued any statements that could be construed as politicising the surgical strikes, but it was quite natural for the party’s district and tehsil-level leaders to take pride in the Indian Army’s surgical strikes. “I am surprised why they (Congress and others) cannot identify with this sentiment,” Shah said, adding that by questioning the strikes, the Congress has associated itself with the dejection that is currently prevailing in Pakistan.
Sibal expressed his party’s anger at Shah questioning former prime minister Indira Gandhi, who, he said, was hailed by former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Goddess Durga after the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war. Sibal blamed the Vajpayee-led government for releasing terrorist Masood Azhar who went on to form the Jaish-e-Mohammad, believed to be behind the Uri attack. He also questioned PM Modi’s friendly overtures towards Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The BJP chief singled out Rahul Gandhi and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal in his criticism. He largely spared opposition leaders from other non-Congress regional parties, including Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, stating they haven’t indulged in irresponsible statements.
The BJP president said that ‘Kejriwal stands with Pakistan’ was the top tending hashtag in Pakistan on Thursday.
On Rahul Gandhi’s “khoon ki dalali” comment, Shah said the use of the word “dalali” betrayed the mindset of the Congress, whose leaders were involved in several scams, from the Bofors gun deal to coal allocation and 2G spectrum scams. Law Minister Prasad said Congress leaders were embarrassed about Rahul Gandhi’s comments. “In the Congress, devotion to Rahul Gandhi is a priority over devotion to the country. Defending Rahul has become more important than defending the country,” Prasad said. He said the Congress would find itself reduced from 44 seats in the Lok Sabha to 24 in the next elections.
Congress leaders said they would match the BJP word for word if the latter politicises the surgical strikes for electoral benefits.