Election Commission issues notice to Azam Khan for Kargil war remarks

New Delhi/Ghaziabad: The Election Commission on Wednesday sought a report from Uttar Pradesh poll authorities on the controversial remarks made by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan.

In a controversial statement, Azam Khan dragged the Kargil conflict into the ongoing Lok Sabha campaign, saying it was 'Muslim soldiers' who fought for India's victory in the 1999 Kargil war against Pakistan.

"Why does remembering the sacrifices of Muslims for India become a big concern?" Khan asked speaking at an election rally in Ghaziabad on Tuesday night.

"Those who fought for victory in Kargil were not Hindu soldiers, in fact the ones who fought for our victory were Muslim soldiers," Khan said in his communal speech.

Reportedly, Khan also went on to say that no one can guard the country's borders better than those from the Muslim community. “Recruit us in the Indian Army. No one can guard the borders of our nation better than us,” he said.

BJP on Wednesday demanded strong action by the Election Commission against Samajwadi Party accusing it of trying to divide security forces on communal lines during the elections.

"This is election time and the EC has responsibility to conduct the polls impartially. Security forces have a crucial role to play in the elections. If any body tries to do communal politics over security forces, then it will have a serious repercussion on electioneering," BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said.

He said, "The EC, keeping this in mind (Khan's statement on Kargil conflict) should take it seriously and initiate strong action against SP immediately."

Terming the UP minister's remark as an "insult to the bravery of the soldiers," Trivedi said, "The communal comment by Azam Khan during the elections shows the politics of communalism. It is an attempt to communalise national security."

He also asked SP leaders whether they visited the houses of soldiers who died at the border.

"We would like to ask SP that if its leaders have visited the house of any soldier who died at the border. On the contrary, SP and Congress leaders had gone to visit the houses of terrorists but not visited even the house of the soldier whose head was severed," he said.

Trivedi said one of the jawans was from UP and three senior BJP leaders, including Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari, had visited his house.

Meanwhile, poll authorities in Ghaziabad are suo motu probing the controversial remarks over Kargil war made by Khan.

"We are examining the 30-minute video speech of Azam Khan on Kargil War and other issues. We have stared probe and if he is found guilty, strict action would be taken against him," said a senior poll official, who didn't wish to be named.

Simultaneously, Samajwadi Party reacted cautiously over Khan's remark, saying it could be the reflection of some dissatisfaction over "unfulfilled aspirations".

"In the army as well as during the freedom struggle all including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians were one and fought together and achieved success with the support of all," party spokesman and senior minister Shivpal Singh Yadav said.

"But when any one section of society is neglected it feels the pain, when the aspirations are not fulfilled they feel the pain. He could have made his thoughts public but he as well as Samajwadi Party are together for the interest of nation as well as society," Yadav said.

"Azam's sacrifices are not any lesser, specially in saving democracy," Yadav said adding that Muslims'contribution for the country is not less and everyone has the right to express himself in democracy.

The controversy-prone Khan, a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government, had also called Narendra Modi's close aide Amit Shah "Gunda no 1", saying he has come to Uttar Pradesh to "create terror".