The Congress on Thursday sharpened its attacked on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Pulwama terrorist attack last week. While it continued to target Modi for his “opened arm” engagement with the crown Prince of Saudi Arabia during the latter visit to India, the grand old party took on the PM over his publicity campaign shooting for a film in the Corbett National Park till the evening of February 14 despite the Pulwama attack taking place in the afternoon.
There was no immediate reaction from the Prime Minister’s Office and the BJP over the allegations. Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, addressing a Press conference, also accused BJP president Amit Shah of “politicisation of terrorism” in his speech in Assam on Sunday.
The Congress said questions must be asked about the “gross intelligence failure” of this Government and on the “priorities of a Prime Minister who on a sensitive time like this has gone on a foreign tour to South Korea instead of tackling terrorism”.
Citing reports from newspapers, Surjewala gave a timeline of events saying the terror attack happened at 3:10 pm on February 14 with the Congress reacting to it at 5:15 pm. “The Prime Minister also knew about it. Yet the PM, a person who claims himself to be a nationalist, continues to shoot a film (for Discovery Channel) for self propagation in the Corbett National Park in Ramnagar,” he claimed.
The Congress spokesperson alleged that the Prime Minister continued to “enjoy boat rides” with the camera crew and later ensured that there was slogan shouting by the BJP people in his favour.
“The Prime Minister continues to have tea, samosas at seven o’clock at Government expense in a PWD guesthouse when every single Indian household didn’t have food,” he said.
On one hand the country was picking up the “pieces of our martyrs”, and on the other hand the Prime Minister was involved in his “propaganda and publicity,” Surjewala claimed.
“Can such a conduct be expected from the Prime Minister of a country. The Prime Minister should have been chairing the Cabinet committee on security immediately and should have taken action, instead of shooting films,” he said.
Surjewala said the Congress had shown restrain on the direction of party president Rahul Gandhi, but it was important to raise issues of such conduct that “insults martyrs”. “The Congress party and the entire nation stands united with our armed forces as also our Government in every step that they take in tackling Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. We are determined in that resolve even today,” he said.
Surjewala also hit out at the conduct of BJP leaders in the aftermath of the attack. He displayed a photograph purportedly showing BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj smiling during the final journey of a slain jawan and cited Union Tourism Minister KJ Alphons taking a “selfie” at a soldier’s funeral. Alphons has denied taking the picture himself saying some miscreants circulated his photograph at the CRPF jawan’s funeral as a “selfie”.
Surjewala also said Pakistan will not succeed in its designs and invoked Indira Gandhi’s strong action in 1971. He also asserted that the Congress, when in power, has always taken moral responsibility in such situations.
Congress spokesperson slammed the Prime Minister for receiving Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the airport and asked whether according a grand welcome to “those who praised” Pakistan’s “anti-terror efforts” was his way of remembering the Pulwama attack victims.