Rajahmundry: BJP president Amit Shah accused the Congress of politicising the Pulwama terror strike in which 49 CRPF personnel were killed last week, and for accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of failing to respond promptly.
In keeping with his penchant for blaming the Congress for everything, Mr Shah said the Pulwama incident was the result of Jawaharlal Nehru’s mishandling of the Kashmir issue.
He said that had Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel been given the chance to become Prime Minister, he could have resolved the dispute between India and Pakistan amicably.
Addressing the BJP’s Shakti Kendra Pramukhs from five Lok Sabha segments of Rajahmundry, Kakinada, Amalapuram, Narasapuram and Eluru in the Godavari districts, Mr Shah also appeared to be irked by Congress spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala describing Mr Modi as a pseudo-nationalist because he continued a film shooting schedule.
There was no need for the Congress to teach lessons in nationalism and patriotism to the BJP, Mr Shah said.
He said that when India carried out a surgical strike against militant launch pads across the LoC, the Congress had politicised the issue. He wondered how the Congress would respond to its minister from Punjab, Navjot Singh Sidhu, hugging Pakistan army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa during the swearing-in ceremony of Pakistan Prime Minister.
Referring to AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s remarks on the Pulwama terror attack and mentioning that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had ruled out the involvement of his country, the BJP chief asked whether he wanted to believe the words of the Indian PM Modi or the Pakistan PM.
