Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tell the families of the 40 CRPF jawans killed in Pulwama as to who released Masood Azhar, whose Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the terror attack. Taking to Twitter, he alleged that it was the present National Security Adviser who went to Kandahar to hand over the "murderer" Azhar.

Azhar, along with some other terrorists, was released by the Indian government in December 1999 in lieu of the release of over 150 hostages of the IC-814 Indian Airlines flight that was hijacked to Kandahar.

"PM Modi please tell the families of our 40 CRPF Shaheeds, who released their murderer, Masood Azhar? Also tell them that your current NSA was the deal maker, who went to Kandahar to hand the murderer back to Pakistan," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.  At least 40 CRPF jawans were killed in the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14 for which JeM has claimed responsibility.

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said BJP is walking down a dangerous path by "using the military" to conceal its own "failures" and asserted that the EC's circular preventing the use of armed forces in election campaign was much needed.

The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday asked political parties to "desist from displaying photographs of defence personnel" against the backdrop of a picture showing a hoarding with images of Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman as well as leaders of the BJP.

"The EC's circular on preventing the use of of armed forces in election campaign was much needed. This needs to be implemented in letter & spirit. Let's keep security forces out of politics," Patel tweeted. "By using the military to conceal its own failures the BJP is walking down a dangerous path," he said.

In a fresh instruction issued to all political parties, the EC referred to its December 2013 letter in which it had "called upon all political parties to advise their candidates and leaders to desist from displaying photographs of defence personnel or photographs of functions involving defence personnel in advertisements".