Political parties in war of words over army ‘strikes’

The BJP and the Congress indulged in a bitter war of words yesterday over the army’s ‘surgical strikes’ across the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir with latter accusing the ruling party of using the military operation for political propaganda.A day after Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of doing “dalali” (profiteering) over the sacrifices of Indian soldiers, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah called a press conference and said Gandhi “crossed his limit”.The Congress, in turn, accused the ruling party of politicising the strike, and the BJP called a second press conference in the day to rebut Congress charges.Not staying behind, the Congress too called second press conference and accused the BJP of insulting the army by stating that the army didn’t have the courage to control the Line of Control (LoC) for 68 years.Yesterday morning, Shah demanded a clarification from Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Rahul Gandhi’s “dalali” remark.“By saying ‘dalali’ over soldiers’ blood, Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits. The remark reflects the Congress’ mentality,” Shah said.“I want to ask Gandhi: Does he perceive our soldiers’ blood to be a thing to do ‘dalali’ (trade) with. His words are an insult to the armed forces and the country as a whole. I want to ask what dalali is he talking about,” Shah asked.He also said Rahul Gandhi must focus on issues pertaining to “Alu ki factory” (potato factory) instead of making statements on such sensitive issues.Shah also targeted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. “It was Kejriwal who started the trend of doubting the ‘surgical strikes’ and casting aspersions on the bravery of our armed forces,” he said.Soon after, Congress called a press conference, where party leader Kapil Sibal blamed the BJP for formation of the Jaish-e-Mohamed.Sibal also came down heavily on Shah for his attack on the Congress vice president.“The people who have been to jail and who have murder cases against them are pointing fingers at others. We never imagined the Bharatiya Janata Party will stoop so low,” Sibal said.Taking a dig at the BJP, Sibal said, “Today these attacks happened as they (BJP) released Jaish-e-Mohamed militant Maulana Masood Azhar.” “If BJP hadn’t released Maulana Masood Azhar then the JeM wouldn’t have taken birth,” Sibal alleged.The BJP responded soon after with union Minister Ravishankar Prasad holding a press conference.“For them (Congress), defending Rahul Gandhi is more important than defending the country,” Prasad said.“On Thursday, it was very embarrassing (for the Congress). I know some Congress leaders who are disturbed because of what he had said,” said the minister.He also slammed Congress for saying the BJP was responsible for creation of JeM.