Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday, 22 March, tweeted that the sacrifices of the armed forces should not be questioned, but asked the government to “stop pretending to be the Indian Army”.
Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his attack on rival parties over the Pulwama attack and the subsequent IAF strike in Pakistan, Yadav further said that in a democracy, it was a “fundamental right” to ask questions of politicians.
Akhilesh Backs Ram Gopal Yadav After Modi’s Tweet
Yadav’s remarks came after his party colleague Ram Gopal Yadav came in for heavy criticism from the PM for alleging that the Pulwama terror attack was a “conspiracy” to garner votes.
On Thursday, referring to the Pulwama attack, SP General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav had said, “This was a conspiracy... but, when there will be a change of government, investigations will be done and prominent people will come under the scanner, who had pushed our youth to death to garner votes.”
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said Ram Gopal Yadav’s comments were “big example of dirty politics” and an “attempt to demoralise” security forces. He said the remarks can weaken the morale of jawans.
In a series of tweets, the PM also slammed Congress’ Sam Pitroda for saying he wanted to “know more” about the Balakot strike, and asking as to how many terrorists were killed in the operation.
Earlier, Akhilesh had accused the BJP of using the strike to "distract" people.
“The soldiers were martyred and there was an intelligence failure (in the Pulwama attack). What have they (BJP) done for the armymen? People of the country want ‘ann’ (food), not gun.”Akhilesh Yadav
(With PTI inputs)
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