After promising to exercise restraint and support each other for the benefit of the country, On Thursday, they were seen indulging in a slugfest and in campaign mode for the upcoming elections.
Image Courtesy: Rahul Gandhi Twitter / @RahulGandhi
New Delhi: Barely a week after the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF troopers were murdered by a suicide car bomber, the opposition party Congress and ruling BJP have locked horns and are indulging in a mudslinging match.
After promising to exercise restraint and support each other for the benefit of the country, On Thursday, they were seen indulging in a slugfest and in campaign mode for the upcoming elections.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “misplaced priorities” and “not giving the attack its due importance”. “When the entire country was mourning the deaths of the jawans, Prime Minister Modi was shooting for a film at Corbett National Park in Ramnagar and indulging in a boat ride to look at crocodiles,” Congress alleged.
Congress also alleged that the shooting went on till 6:30 pm on 14 February and that the PM had tea and snacks at 6:45 pm. The attack had happened in the afternoon on the same day.
“It is horrific that till four hours after such an attack, Modi was busy with his own branding, photoshoot and snacks,” Surjewala said.
While referring to reports in a section of the media and providing a timeline of events of the day, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said the Prime Minister was neglecting his “raj dharma” (duty of governance.)
Addressing the media later in the day, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad hit back at the Congress saying the opposition party has shown its “true colours” after maintaining the “facade” of standing with the government and security forces following the terror strike.
He snapped when he was asked questions about Modi’s presence in the park for long after the attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. “This is a totally baseless charge,” he said when a journalist asked if the Prime Minister continued with the film’s shooting till the evening, by when everyone knew of the magnitude of the attack. When the journalist continued with his question, a visibly angry Prasad said, “I have answered your question, don’t argue with me”. He added, “I deny it completely.”
Image Courtesy: Rahul Gandhi Twitter / @RahulGandhi
Earlier, addressing the media, Prasad said Modi “was in Ramnagar for an official programme related to tiger conservation”.
The minister then said, “If the Congress party knew that an attack was going to take place in Pulwama. If their information network is so strong, good. We didn’t know.” He added that Modi had to drive a long way to catch a flight back to Delhi because of bad weather.
“The whole country is united. The morale of the armed forces is soaring sky high. Country after country is standing with India. At this critical juncture the Congress party is exposing its true colours,” he said, accusing the Congress of weakening the “resolve of the country” and the “morale of the armed forces”.
To questions about how the Pulwama attack had taken place despite the government’s claim that demonetisation would break the back of terrorism, Prasad said no big terror attack had taken place in the rest of the country.