Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Jhansi, where the latter was seen seeking votes, hours after 45 CRPF soldiers were killed by a suicide bomber in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama.
Addressing a hurriedly called press conference, a visibly angry Prasad said, “If Congress party is keen that why Mr Modi had gone to Jhansi, so let me say it straight on the face of the Congress party. The party’s programmes were postponed for three days but for the sake of the terrorists’ game plan India will not stop. And India should not stop.”
Prasad said that his party did not believe in stopping the work even in the face of the deadliest terror attack leaving 45 soldiers dead. He said this is where his party was different to the Congress. “This is our thinking. That’s the difference in our thinking,” he added.
Modi had come under considerable condemnation for asking people in Jhansi to vote for him once again in this year’s Lok Sabha polls. This despite his own party’s spokesperson Sambit Patra had announced that all party programmes of the BJP had been cancelled in view of the Pulwama terror attack. Prasad’s comments justifying Modi’s Jhansi rally came after the Congress launched a blistering attack, calling the prime minister ‘insensitive and inhuman.’
The Congress had also attacked Modi for choosing to continue with the shooting of a documentary, being made on himself, despite learning about the Pulwama attack. Prasad said, “He had gone to Ramnagar forest in an official programme regarding tiger conservation.”
Prsad, however, confessed that the Congress’ intelligence was better than that of his government. He added, “If the Congress knew about the attack, we didn’t know about it. If the Congress’ intelligence system is so strong, then it’s a good thing.”
Prasad also said that all BJP leaders had attended the funerals of CRPF jawans across India. He, however, did not mention that several BJP leaders were widely condemned for their insensitivity while attending the funerals of slain CRPF jawans. Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj was seen occupying the front space of the funeral procession of a CRPF jawan while greeting his constituents with a broad smile.
Union Minister KJ Alphons had to delete his selfie with a CRPF jawan’s coffin after he faced incessant trolling on social media.
Several BJP ministers had to face abuses and anger from a CRPF jawan’s family in Meerut after they arrived there with their shoes on. Union Minister Satya Pal Singh had to later apologise after a photo showing him laughing at the funeral place went viral.
